Me sostiene el sangre
by protejerinnocencia
Summary: The story of a line tied by a blood. A brilliant plan set in motion by accident
1. Chapter 1

_Prologue_

The sun was just beginning to set over the tired-looking house of Spinner's End. A man dragging a trunk fumbled in his overcoat for keys. He slid the key into the lock and the door swung open. Little did he know he was being watched? A slender silhouette crouched across the street, hidden by tall bushes. As the door closed behind her target, she stood up and stealthily moved closer. She ducked down beneath a window sill on the east side of the house. Inside the man was sending clothing flying into drawers and onto hangers. He did not seem to notice the woman at his window as conjured a glass of what looked like tonic and gin to the woman.

The blond took a step to the side and rose to her full five foot six frame. She was old hat at this. She knew his mind would be foggy soon, his senses dulled. She had been watching him for months, observing the subtle changes in him; the sensitivity to sunlight, lack of an appetite. She had seen his eyes take on flecks of ice grey. She was close now

"One last time," she whispered to herself as she slid around the back of the house.

She unlatched the back door and slipped inside. Her shoes made no noise as she moved towards his bedroom. The door was wide open and she saw him pour himself another drink. Once he'd tossed it back, slamming the snifter down the side table, she glided in and was at his side. He seemed not to notice. Or if he did, he mistook her for a hallucination, one he'd had for months. It was a pleasant hallucination in his mind.

"One last time," she repeated against neck before she bared her elongated canines and sunk them into his tender flesh.

He went limp immediately, almost as if it were some innate reflex. She took her fill and when she was done, healed the two punctures with a kiss. Her nostrils flared as he slipped into unconsciousness. His scent changed. Not much, but enough that it made her smile. When he woke, he would be almost changed. She kissed him on the lips gently before disappearing from the room. She combed the streets for a suitable meal. She found a young boy in his mid teens and decided he would do. She grabbed him, her hand immediately covering his mouth.

"Calm down," she whispered soothingly in his ear.

"You don't have to be afraid. I just want you to meet my friend," she whispered, the boy nodded his head. She uncovered his mouth and brought him back.

Returning to the house on Spinner's End, she sat him in the living room with instructions to stay there until she came back for him. Upon entering the bedroom, she found the man sitting on the bed, holding his head. He looked up at her in confusion.

"Shit. I'm hallucinating," he muttered to himself. She shut the door and sat next to him, taking his hands in hers.

"No Severus. I'm very real," she said in his ear.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Alena," she answered, her extended teeth showing. Realization shot through him like a whip.

"What have you done to me?" Severus roared.

"Calm down," she said calmly.

"Calm down! You've been feeding on me haven't you?" he accused. She nodded.

"How long? You bitch!" he exclaimed. She narrowed her eyes at him and he went tumbling to the floor.

"Do not raise your voice to me," she stated sternly.

Her features softened as she crouched down by him. She stroked his hair and gazed at him admiringly.

"You are going to make a magnificent vampire," she whispered.

"Come on. You need to feed," she instructed.

"No," Severus protested.

"It will help. You'll feel better," she assured him.

She helped him to his feet and told him sit on the bed. She retrieved the boy and he stood in front of Severus, his eyes glazed over in a trance. The look in Severus' eyes made Alena smile. She stepped up to the boy and sunk her teeth in, taking only a small amount. She removed her mouth and healed the wounds.

"Go ahead," she urged.

Severus rose on shaking legs and felt his canine's extend. He sunk them into the soft flesh of the young man's neck. Blood began to flow into the older man's mouth and he drank it greedily. He grew dizzy as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"That's enough," came Alena's voice.

He pulled his teeth out and licked the wounds. Miraculously they disappeared. The boy began to sway unsteadily in his condition. Together, Alena and Severus laid him on the bed.

"Do you feel better?" she inquired her offspring.

"Yes," he answered, feeling better than he'd felt in months.


	2. Chapter 2

_One: The Warning_

Severus heaved a sigh as he stared out the small window, watching the sun disappear below the horizon. His senses began to adjust to the atmosphere of night. His dim surroundings became clearer and his ears pricked up at the softest sound. Pale nostrils flared as the vampire became aware of the mold growing in the corners of his office. He would have to do something about that later. He ran a slender hand over his eyes as he stared down at the essay he'd been grading. Before he could stop it, a yawn escaped him.

"Merlin I need sleep," he muttered to himself.

He occupied himself with work until a soft knock on his door caught his attention. His brow knit together in curiosity. He wasn't expecting anyone other than a few students for detention later.

"Enter," he called, noticing how tired his voice sounded.

The door opened slowly and a female figure walked in. She was dressed in a long navy blue skirt, low heels and a peasant blouse the color of dawn. She wore a jacket over the blouse and it was buttoned in the center button. Her shoulder-length blond hair was pulled back in a messy but attractive braid.

"Good evening," she spoke, leaning on the doorframe.

"You don't have to stand there. You can come in," Severus replied, getting up from where he sat.

She smiled a gentle smile, her lips not parting. As she walked the short distance to the desk, her shirt billowed out around her, resembling the motions the Professor's robes made when he walked.

'You look awful,' she chided silently.

"It's nice to see you too," the newly appointed Defense Professor muttered, ignoring her silent scold.

"Have you gotten enough rest?" Alena queried, leaning on the desk.

"I'm fine Alena," Severus protested, swatting her hand away from his cheek.

"That potions making you ill," she retorted in a motherly tone.

"It's securing me my job is what it's doing," Severus argued.

"When's the last day you took a sick day?"

"I don't know. Why?" he asked.

"Take a couple and just sleep. Forget the potion and just sleep. Even with feeding you're a wreck," his sire stated sternly.

"I'm managing," he muttered around a yawn.

"I rest my case," the blond murmured with a shake of her head.

"I know you didn't come just to yell at me. To what do I really owe this pleasure?" the dark-haired vampire inquired, taking one of her hands in his.

"I just came to see my favorite offspring," she cooed, kissing his cheek lovingly.

"Must you use that term. It's so…insulting," he whined.

"Well you threw a fit the last time I called you my son. What do you want me to call you?" she shot.

"Severus would be nice," he grumbled.

"It's a term of endearment you idiot," she retorted, glaring at him.

'I love you,' he whispered in her head.

"Answer the question," she ordered, turning to stare at him.

"Well I don't know..." he trailed off.

"Then quit complaining about it," she snapped, slapping him on the shoulder.

'I love you too,' she replied.

Severus pulled the woman to him. Had they been born in the same time period she would be at least 13 years his junior. But she was now his senior by at least a century. Over the past five years he'd fallen for her and had cursed his poor luck when he found he was not one of the few lucky males who could still have sex. Presently, he pressed his lips against Alena's, his hands sliding down her back. She allowed her arms to snake about his neck. They stood rooted to the spot for only a moment before Severus took a step back, carrying her with him until he was in his seat. Alena repositioned herself so that she was in his lap. Severus' lips began to travel along her jaw line and her throat. His sensitive nostrils flared excitedly as he smelled and felt the blood coursing through her veins. He closed his eyes, feeling his canine teeth extending. He kissed her carotid artery, his fangs brushing against the pulsing area. She pulled away from him, her orange flecked dark blue eyes taking in his silver laced onyx.

'Be good,' she scolded.

"I am," he purred in her ear.

"I'm not stupid love. I wouldn't do that to you," he assured her.

"You're young still. You need to be careful. Even thee best of us are prone to mess up," she answered, brushing a dulled lock of black hair from his face.

"You need to feed," she commented softly.

"I will."

"When's the last time you fed?"

"Yesterday," he responded.

"Don't lie to me Severus. You may be a Occlumens but you can't keep things hidden from me," Alena reprimanded.

"I'm not lying to you! I just didn't have much time. So I only took a minimal amount," Severus admitted. He had gone to bed craving more.

"You need to stop neglecting your health. Do I need to bring you your meals like an infant?" she questioned, her eyes radiating heated annoyance.

"I am capable of getting my own meals thank you," he snapped.

"Well you're doing a piss poor job of showing me that."

"I don't have to do everything to your damn satisfaction," he hissed, standing, forcing her to get up.

"Now if you don't mind I have a student coming in five minutes for detention," he barked.

She turned her back on him but thrust her hand backwards at him. Severus clutched his head in pain. She'd just slapped him mentally. His vision blurred for a moment in pain. She left without a word. Professor Snape sunk back into his chair, trying his best to recover from the blow before the pupil arrived. He checked his schedule; Harry Potter. His mouth watered at the thought of getting a good, long meal from the boy. Not a moment later, a knock sounded on the wooden door. Severus collected himself.

"Enter," he barked gruffly.

Harry pushed open the door and stepped in. He looked none too pleased. He'd talked back to Snape in class and had landed himself in detention. Needless to say he was rather annoyed. He had no idea what Snape had in store for him, but whatever it was it was going to be long, and boring. He let out an audible sigh as he slunk toward Snape's desk, his eyes cast downward.

"Potter," Severus snarled, catching the boy's attention. Harry's head jerked up, emerald becoming transfixed in silver flecked onyx.

"Sit down," Severus ordered silkily, watching has Harry obeyed quite willingly.

Severus licked his lips, his fangs aching to feel blood. Harry seemed not to notice. His mind was filed with the idea that detention wasn't so bad. That all he had to do was clean the trophies in the trophy room. Severus stood up, his head no clear once more and moved to stand behind Harry.

"It won't hurt at all," Severus simpered as he pulled the boy's collar back and sunk his elongated teeth into the soft flesh of his student's neck.

He let out a sigh as blood began to flow into his mouth. He swallowed it in large, greedy gulps. It was so rich and warm. Severus couldn't tear himself away. He just kept letting it flow. Finally when Harry's breathing had become too shallow for Severus' liking; he dislodged his canines and healed the pinprick wounds. Harry, looking considerably paler than when he'd entered, slumped over in the chair, passed out from the blood loss. Severus on the other hand looked quite healthy. His skin was still pale but he didn't look so sickly. His eyes were more vibrant and his hair shone. He felt warm inside and felt better than he had in ages. Even with the potion, and lack of sleep, he felt ready for the coming day. He went about dealing with the moldy corners of the office while he waited for Harry to regain consciousness. Twenty minutes later, a sound escaped Harry's lips. Severus sat back down at his desk and waited for the Gryffindor to fully come to.

"You may go," Severus drawled in his usual tone.

Harry rubbed his head and eyes and got up, having to grip the chair to catch his balance. He shot Severus a wary look as he stumbled from the room. The man leaned back in his chair, wholly satisfied. He counted in his mind how many times he'd fed from the boy. It couldn't have been more than once or twice. Om second thought it was more like four or five.

"How many times have you fed from that boy?" came Alena's voice.

"I thought you left," Severus remarked dully.

"Do not avoid the question," she snapped.

"Once or twice," Severus muttered, not looking at her.

She narrowed her eyes and frowned. As she fished through his mind, she felt her offspring squirming under the pressure.

"Severus!" she hissed angrily.

"What!" he protested.

"Five times!" she all but shrieked.

"He's fine."

"You don't know that. Have you been looking signs?" she queried in frustration.

"No," was his short answer.

"I suggest you find another victim," she advised and began to leave.

"What are you saying? That I'm not responsible?" he shot at her angrily.

"I'm saying you'd be in deep shit if you ended up turning the Boy-Who-Lived," she growled and exited the office, leaving Severus staring at the spot she had just inhabited. Could he really be on the verge of turning the famous boy wizard?


	3. Chapter 3

_Two: Seeing Signs_

A week or so had passed and Severus had heeded Alena's advice in finding another victim. He'd also begun to watch Harry more closely. At first he didn't see any difference in the boy. He was as annoying as ever. However, in the last couple of days Severus had begun to notice small things that didn't fit Harry's personality. For one thing, he caught the Gryffindor several times arguing quite heatedly with his friends. Presently Severus was walking down a corridor, enjoying the darkness of it when he heard voices from a classroom. He stopped and listened.

"I said I was fine ok! Just drop it," Harry's voice shot.

"Harry you look awful," Hermione retorted.

"Well I feel fine," the boy grumbled and stormed from the room, not noticing Severus lurking in the shadows.

Severus caught a glimpse of the boy as he passed. He really did look awful. He was ghastly pale, as if he'd not been out in the sun months. The Professor held his breath as Hermione and Ron rushed after their friend. Once the trio had disappeared around a corner, Severus let out a breath. His mind was racing as he strode back to his office. Once in the security of a closed and locked door, the vampire began to talk to himself.

"Get a grip. You're just overreacting," he told himself as he began to pace.

Severus' mind had automatically assumed the worst; that he was indeed close to turning the Boy-Who-Lived. He knew Alena was perceptive but she also liked to scare him, to keep him in line.

"There are million reasons he could look so bad. He could be getting ill as Miss Granger suggested," he continued, his hand resting on his chin.

"It was fairly poor lighting. That could be it," he suggested to himself hopefully as he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," he called, stopping his pacing. The door opened and Minerva walked in.

"How can I help you Minerva?" he asked, hands in his pockets.

"Are you feeling alright Severus? I could have sworn you were talking to yourself just now," she commented, looking worriedly at her colleague.

"I...yes. A little sleep-deprived but otherwise I'm fine," Severus answered, addressing the first part of her comment.

"I was just um…well it was nothing really," he muttered awkwardly.

"I see," she said with a smile. Severus returned her smile, his eyes locking with hers.

"Dance with me," Snape whispered, taking her hand.

"There's no music," Minerva answered, looking dazed.

"We don't need any," Severus murmured, his eyes now flecked with silver. His colleague's eyes glazed over and Severus smiled, his fangs showing.

Severus wrapped his arms around her, humming lightly in her ear to help build a false memory. He pressed his lips to her neck, baring his teeth. He sank them in and sighed. He only took a small amount. It took only a few moments for Minerva to recover.

"Thank you," he purred in her ear.

She smiled back at him, squeezing his hand. He let her go, making sure she was ok. Hearing the door close behind her, he heaved a sigh of relief. That was almost too close for comfort. He tried to busy himself with work but Harry kept interrupting him. His mind was telling him to not just push this aside. That it wasn't just poor lightly or chance.

"Damn it," he growled. He would have to keep an even closer eye on Harry now.

The following morning, Harry awoke to find his bed curtains thrown wide open. The sun was pouring in. His body hurt and he had no idea why. He ran a hand over his arm and it felt warm, almost as if it was sunburned. He fumbled for his wand and managed to draw the curtains n the windows. With a groan he got out of bed and got dressed. Ron and Hermione had already gone down to breakfast so Harry had a solitary walk to the Great Hall. He reached Gryffindor table shortly and slid in-between his friends.

"How are you feeling Harry?" Hermione questioned after she swallowed a mouthful of pumpkin juice.

"Fine," he muttered, taking a biscuit and some sausage and putting it on his plate. He dug in, feeling extremely hungry.

"Did they put garlic butter on these?" Harry asked after he'd taken a bite of biscuit.

"I don't know," Ron muttered, sniffing his own biscuit.

"Smells like normal butter to me," the redhead stated with a shrug.

After breakfast, the trio headed to Transfiguration. Harry did his best to concentrate but his stomach felt unsettled. He managed to make it through the lesson but couldn't hold it much longer.

"I'll see you in class," he called to Ron and Hermione as he headed into the boy's bathroom.

Harry shuddered as his breakfast came back up. It was disgusting. He'd been right. It was garlic butter. Once he had stopped dry heaving he stood on shaking legs and flushed the toilet. He moved to the sink and splashed water on his face, conjured a cup and rinsed out his mouth. With one last look in the mirror he headed to class. He slipped in just as Severus was walking in the opposite door.

"You ok?" Hermione asked quietly as Harry sat down. Harry nodded.

"Is there something you wish to share with the class Miss Granger?" Snape asked from the front of the room.

"No Sir," she replied with a shake of her head.

With that Severus began the lesson. Unfortunately for Harry, it seemed his breakfast wasn't finished with him yet. Halfway through the class he stood up to cast a spell and collapsed. Severus did his best not to look too concerned for his pupil.

"Miss Granger. Mr. Weasley, take Mr. Potter to the Hospital Wing. The rest of you, continue what you were doing," he ordered.

Hermione and Ron levitated their unconscious classmate and exited the room. They walked silently up to the Hospital Wing, exchanging nervous glances. They filled madam Pomfrey in on what had happened and were quickly shooed away. When the mediwitch emerged, she was met with worried looks.

"He needs to rest," she told them curtly.

"What's wrong with him?" Hermione pressed.

"Possibly food poisoning or the flu. I'm not completely sure," Poppy answered.

Looking disappointed, the two Gryffindors left, Harry still asleep. Several hours later Hermione was on her way to see Harry when she was intercepted by none other than Professor Snape.

"And where are you going Miss Granger?' he questioned silkily.

"To see Harry," she answered.

"Tell Madam Pomfrey that when he wakes up and is deemed fit to leave, send him to my office," he told the girl.

"Yes Sir," she muttered and walked past her Professor.

After giving Madam Pomfrey the message, Hermione was permitted to see Harry. He didn't look much better but he was awake. She sat in a chair by his bed and leaned on her elbows.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," he replied.

"You scared us earlier," she muttered, reaching out one hand to clasp his.

"I guess breakfast didn't agree with me. I sort of lied to you earlier. I wasn't ok. I'd just thrown up," Harry admitted.

"Harry I'd say that not agreeing with you is a bit of an understatement. I'd say breakfast was kicking your ass," Hermione retorted with a soft laugh.

"Yeah I guess it was," he muttered with a chuckle.

"Mr. Potter, are you feeling well enough to leave?" Madam Pomfrey called, sticking her head around the corner.

"I think so," he nodded and moved to get up. Hermione moved her chair back and offered her friend of six years her hand, pulling him up.

Harry had to steady himself but after that he seemed to be fine. He put on his glasses and ran a hand through his hair. He and Hermione began to walk towards the exit when the mediwitch stopped them.

"Mr. Potter," she called.

"Yes?"

"I've been given instructions that once you're fit to leave, which you are, you are to go see Professor Snape," she told the boy. Harry nodded and shot his friend a look.

"He probably wants to give me detention for passing out," he mused.

"Or to explain the second half of the lesson," Hermione proposed.

"Hermione. It's Snape we're talking about. He hates me. He wouldn't be that nice to get me caught up," Harry retorted.

"Well I suppose that's true. Well I'll see you back in the Common Room," Hermione said and bit farewell to her companion.

Harry trudged down to the dungeons, taking the longest way possible so he could avoid having to deal with the surly Professor. After a good ten minute hike around the dungeons, Harry arrived at the man's office door. He knocked, awaiting a response. One didn't come right away. He could swear he heard hushed voices one moment and then they were gone the next. He was very confused. Why was he all of a sudden so aware of garlic butter and hushed voices? He knocked again and this time the door was yanked open.

"Come in," Severus barked.

Harry entered and saw a woman he'd never seen before standing next to Snape's desk. He turned around, staring at Snape. Harry's eyes were glaring at the man, his usual emerald flecked with shards of gold. Severus averted his gaze and looked to the woman.

"Sit down Potter," Severus ordered. Harry sat.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, growing extremely nervous. His palms were beginning to sweat and felt a faint stinging sensation in his neck. He suddenly became very aware of how cramped the room felt and he could hear 3 distinct heartbeats.


	4. Chapter 4

_Three: Turning Point_

Severus and Alena exchanged looks, seeming to discuss something with their eyes. Harry fidgeted in his seat. He didn't like this at all.

'Answer his question,' she told him, looking not pleased at all with the situation.

Severus began to pace, picking his words carefully. He had never explained to someone before that they were one step away from becoming a vampire. He finally stopped to face the boy who was gripping the arms of his seat in evident anxiety.

'What am I supposed to say?' Severus pleaded silently.

'It's your problem. Figure it out,' she shot back.

"You have no doubt noticed certain…changes in recent weeks. Is that true Mr. Potter?" Severus began, looking at Harry.

"What kind of changes?" Harry questioned cautiously.

"Heightened senses, sensitivity to light, reduced appetite," Severus listed off. The boy nodded at each.

"Madam Pomfrey thinks I've got the flu," the boy muttered.

"You do not have the flu Mr. Potter," Severus drawled.

"Oh? And I suppose you know what I've got then. Is that it?" Harry shot angrily, making to stand up. He felt an invisible hand holding him fast.

"As a matter of fact I know exactly what has happened to you Mr. Potter. And it will no doubt alarm you that I am the reason," Severus answered calmly.

"What the fuck did you do to me!" the Gryffindor seethed.

'Let it go Severus. Just move on,' the Professor heard in his head.

"You are one step away from...becoming a vampire. All that is left of your transformation is to feed," Severus informed his soon-to-be offspring through pursed lips.

"What!" he exploded.

"No. Forget it. I refuse. You can't make me. I'll go to the Headmaster," Harry threatened.

"Believe me; it is best to just finish the transformation. If you don't, your life will be very painful and uncomfortable," Alena spoke for the first time.

"And you will not go to the Headmaster with this information," Severus hissed, his eyes lit up by silver.

"And you think you're going to stop me?" Harry challenged.

Professor Snape grabbed Harry by the collar, bringing him closer until they were nose to nose. Harry's eyes widened as he saw his own reflected in his glasses, decorated with slivers of gold. He blinked but they did not disappear. Being in such close proximity to the man, he suddenly became aware of a tantalizing smell.

'You are not going to jeopardize either of our positions here,' Severus spat in Harry's head.

"What do you mean?"

"Dumbledore may have been welcoming of a werewolf but our kind is a different story. We would not be trusted around so many potential victims," Severus explained, letting Harry go.

"V-Victims?" Harry stammered.

"We do not kill," Alena said.

"The term victim is loosely used," she expounded.

"What's that smell?" the boy asked suddenly, getting up the courage to pursue his curiosity. Severus smirked, exchanging a satisfied look with Alena.

"Blood," they spoke in unison.

Harry swallowed loudly. "It…smells good," he murmured, a look of fear on his young face.

The two adults looked at almost gleeful. Harry took a couple of steps back, colliding with the chair he'd recently vacated.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked, his throat going dry.

"It's so much easier when you don't resist it isn't it?" Alena murmured, patting his hand gently.

"So what do I have to do?" Harry inquired of Snape warily.

"Give me a moment to find a suitable first meal," Severus murmured, actually smiling a genuine proud smile at the boy. He disappeared and Harry was left alone with Alena.

"So who are you?" the teenager asked.

"I'm Alena. I should have introduced myself earlier. Or rather he should have. He forgets his manners sometimes," she said with a chuckle.

"I'm his sire," she added just as Severus walked back in followed by Draco Malfoy.

'Stand up,' Harry heard echo in his head. He did as he was told.

He turned to face his enemy. Draco's eyes were glazed over, almost glassy. Harry shot Severus a look as if to ask 'What's wrong with him?' Severus motioned for Harry to move closer. Suddenly Harry opened his mouth, razor-sharp canines protruding over his lower lip. He ran his tongue over them, feeling them out. He stepped up to Draco who did not move a muscle. That bothered the Gryffindor but at the moment a deep hunger overshadowed his uneasiness about the Slytherin.

"What do I do?" he asked.

'Just bite,' Severus instructed.

Harry leaned forward and sunk his teeth into Draco's pale neck. Blood immediately began to flow into his mouth. Harry was shocked as it flowed down his throat. He thought it would be disgusting but it was hot and sweet. He continued to drink until he heard Snape's voice in his head.

'That is enough.'

Harry dislodged his teeth and looked at Snape and then back to Draco's neck. Two pinprick size holes remained, blood trickling out of them. Harry licked his lips, relishing the sweet taste.

'Heal the wounds.' It was Alena this time.

"How?"

'Your saliva will heal them,' she told him. He did as he was told and miraculously the wounds disappeared.

Severus escorted Draco out of the room. Harry took a moment to le the feeling of having fed set in. He felt good, really good. He found a mirror on Snape's desk and examined himself. He was no longer sickly pale and his arm that had been sunburned that morning was healed. His eyes were back to their natural emerald green. Suddenly the image of himself went blurry. He clutched his head in pain as a searing headache overtook him. At that moment Severus walked back in. He strode to Harry's side.

"What happened?" he asked bluntly.

"I don't know. One minute I was fine and then my vision went blurry and my head is killing me," Harry answered, trying to look at Snape.

Without saying a word, Severus removed Harry's glasses. Harry blinked as the headache began to subside and his vision cleared. He blinked several times. His vision was better than it had been with glasses.

"My vision…it's better than it was before," he remarked in amazement.

"Yes. We have a lot to explain but vision correction is a...positive side effect of becoming one of us," Alena interjected in response to the boy's statement.

"Go back to your dormitory Mr. Potter. Come back at ten o'clock," Severus ordered.

"And do not tell anyone about this. Do you understand?" he added sternly.

"Yes Sir," Harry answered with a nod. He took his glasses back, put them in his pocket and left.

"Well that went better than expected," Severus remarked casually to Alena.

"You've gotten yourself in deep shit Severus. I only hope you can handle it. I'll send Kalyn back to help," she muttered and moved towards the door. Severus caught her wrist.

'It is my mistake. I will make it work,' he promised, kissing her on the lips before she disappeared.

"Now to prepare to deliver the news," he mumbled to himself, sitting behind his desk.


	5. Chapter 5

_Four: Riot Act_

Harry wandered back up to Gryffindor Tower. Neither Ron nor Hermione were in site. In fact the Common Room was oddly empty. Shrugging it off, the boy took the steps two at a time to the boy's dormitory and set his glasses on the table. Grabbing a towel, he headed for the bathroom and climbed into the shower. The water felt refreshing against his skin. After twenty minutes he emerged, feeling more alive than he'd ever felt. He dressed and took a moment to decide whether to don his glasses. He didn't fancy a headache but Snape had said to not tell anyone. Harry leaned back on his four-poster and sighed. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. His eyes closed and he nodded briefly. He woke to someone shaking him. He opened his eyes to see Ron leaning over him.

"What?" Harry asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"You feeling any better mate?" Ron asked.

"Yeah. What time is it?" Harry answered, swinging his legs over the edge of his bed.

"Uh, 9:56," the youngest Weasley boy answered after checking his watch.

"Shit," Harry muttered and jumped up from his bed, grabbing his glasses and pushing them on his face.

"Wait! Harry where are you going?" the redhead called as Harry dashed out of the dormitory.

Harry didn't answer as he flew out the portrait hole and sprinted as fast as he could down to the dungeons. He stopped just outside Professor Snape's office to catch his breath. He knocked and walked in,, taking off his glasses as they'd begun to give him a headache again Snape was seated behind his desk and a young girl, about Harry's age was seated next to him. Both looked up when Harry entered.

"Have a seat," Severus said, pointing to the chair. Harry sat.

"This is Kalyn," Severus introduced the girl.

"HI," Harry greeted, still catching his breath.

"Hello. It's Harry isn't it?" she responded, a gentle smile on her lips. He nodded.

'You better not make me do all the talking. You are his sire after all,' Kalyn whispered in Severus' mind.

'You need to stop talking to Alena,' he retorted.

"So…um what happens now?" Harry asked, catching the attention of the other two in the room.

"There is a lot you need to learn," Severus began, looking at Harry.

"I figured that. So where do we start?"

"How about with the basics," Kalyn suggested.

"Alright. You will begin to feel more awake after the sun goes down. You will need to feed several times a night but be discreet about it," Severus began.

"How many times—," Harry began.

"Ask questions at the end," Severus snapped.

"As I was saying, you will need to feed several times a night. It is imperative that your victims do not remember anything about being fed from," Severus continued.

"You might want to break it up so he gets it," Kalyn muttered out of the corner of her mouth. Severus shot her a look but turned his attention back to his offspring.

"You may ask your question now."

"How many times would say is 'several' and how exactly am I supposed to make them forget?" Harry asked.

"I'd say probably at least three," Kalyn interjected.

"I suppose you could use a memory charm but you're going to have to learn to do it with your mind. Make them believe something else has happened. I'm sure the first few times Severus here can help you with that," she added in response to the latter half of the boy's query.

"What other questions do you have before we move on?" Severus asked, leaning forward on his desk casually. It was a manner Harry had never observed Snape in.

"What…what happens with our eyes. They take on odd colors," Harry murmured, feeling color rush to his cheeks. He figured it should be obvious and they'd start laughing at him.

"It means you're either hungry or emotional," Severus replied.

"Oh ok."

"Shall we move on?" Kalyn suggested to which both males nodded.

"We have a very strict code of conduct. You are never to reveal yourself as what you truly are to humans unless they can be trusted. Before you say anything while I'm sure your friends would keep it in confidence, it could be useful information for your enemies and we cannot risk your friends being the source," Severus began.

"Additionally, feeding is not to lead to killing. Not even in self defense. The Ministry is aware of our existence and they will trace it back to our kind. You are also never under any circumstances to take from another vampire," Severus continued.

"Could you maybe write this down or something? We should have a "Vampire's Code of Conduct" manual," Harry muttered.

Severus' eyebrow shot up to his hairline but he took out a piece of parchment and began to make a list of 'Don'ts". Once he'd finished he slid the parchment over to Harry.

"So um what happens if you do…say on accident feed from another vampire?" the Gryffindor queried.

"You are beheaded," Severus drawled. Harry winced at the thought.

"Right then. I'll just put a big star next to that one," he muttered to himself.

'You didn't have to scare him,' Kalyn shot silently, narrowing her eyes at the sallow-skinned man next to her.

'He asked and I answered,' he hissed back. Harry could tell they were saying something silently.

"Can you stop talking about me?" Harry pleaded.

"Sorry," the two elder vampires responded in unison.

"Will I be able to do it?"

"Eventually. It takes practice but you'll get the hang of it. It helps a lot with luring victims," Kalyn commented, her soft blue-green eyes flashing momentarily with sharp swirls of brown.

"Any other rules I should know?" Harry questioned.

"Do not feed from students," Severus stated bluntly.

'You hypocrite! You feed from them…and the staff all the time,' Kalyn snapped loudly, causing Severus to jump slightly.

'Yes well you saw where that got me. I don't want him making the same mistake,' he replied calmly.

"Then where am I supposed to find victims?"

"I'll take you into Hogsmeade. There is a trip tomorrow anyways," Severus remarked, looking at his female companion.

"Have you fed tonight?" he asked of her.

"Yes but I can go again? You thinking of taking a little trip out to Hogsmeade?" Severus nodded.

"Let's go," Severus spoke, addressing Harry.

"Wait. I've got some more questions," Harry protested.

"What?" came Severus' voice, sounding slightly tired.

"Well I can't very well go around without my glasses off. People would get suspicious. But I'd rather not deal with these headaches. Anything you can do?" the boy posed.

"Well knocking the lenses out would look a bit dodgy. You could put regular glass in them," Kalyn proposed.

Severus nodded and began searching around for some glass. Harry shot Kalyn a look asking her what he was doing. She just shrugged. Severus finally found a piece and stretched out his hand for Harry's glasses. Harry handed them over, glad to give his aching head a rest. Severus tapped the lenses with his wand and they disappeared. He tapped the piece of glass and it broke itself into two round circles, securing them within the frames. Satisfied, the Defense Professor handed his offspring the glasses.

"How is that?"

"Great! Thanks. Let's go," Harry said brightly. The trio headed into Hogsmeade to catch a early meal.

Harry watched the late night patrons wandering about the streets. He pointed to several witches coming out of The Three Broomsticks but both Severus and Kalyn shook their heads in the negative.

'Drunk. Leads to an upset stomach,' Kalyn said silently.

After another ten minutes of fruitless searching, they came upon a group in their early twenties. The vampires sauntered up and lured them into a dark alley. After drinking their fill and making sure all three donors were alright, Severus, Kalyn and Harry headed back to Hogwarts. Harry was walking beside Kalyn. He took the time that it took to get back to the dungeons to properly look her over. She was about an inch shorter than he with wavy brown hair, streaked with blond. She had warm sea-green eyes and a cute smile. She was dressed in jeans, high heeled boots and a green sleeveless shirt.

"There is something I need to give you," Severus addressed Harry as they got back to his office.

Severus walked over to a beat up wooden cabinet and unlocked it. He pulled out several vials of a silver-purple substance. Securing the cabinet, Severus handed them to the boy. Harry studied them for a moment before looking back up at his sire.

"What is this for?" the boy wanted to know.

"It has several purposes. One is to allow you to function in daylight. Your transformation does not get you out of attending classes as usual. It will also allow you eat without making you too ill. I suggest you do not eat too much as it will not totally cancel out the effects," Severus explained.

"Are there any side effects. I mean there's always side effects to potions aren't there?" Harry asked.

'Merlin he actually did learn something!' Severus thought in awe.

"You will not get as much sleep as your body needs. Thus you will need to feed more often to insure you keep in good health," his sire answered.

"Right," Harry muttered, stowing the vials safely in his robes.

"Take a spoonful each night before you go to bed. I do not want to have to go banging down your door to get you up," Severus instructed.

"Yes Sir," Harry nodded vehemently.

"That will be all for tonight. You know where to find me if you need something. Kalyn will also be staying here temporarily. She will be at your disposal as well. I suggest as I am rather busy, you use her as a resource," Severus concluded.

"Good night Harry," Kalyn called as the boy left.

"He seemed to do fairly well for his first night out," she commented.

"It will be difficult for him to keep this from his friends," Severus sighed, running a hand over his eyes.

"I'm going to turn in early," he murmured to which Kalyn nodded and headed for the guest quarters Severus had set up for her.

Harry managed to sneak back into the Common Room and dormitory undetected. He sat on his bed, staring at the vials. This seemed so unreal, as if it was all a dream. But Harry knew better than to believe that. It felt strange for Snape to be nice to him.

"I guess he's got no choice," he muttered to himself with a soft laugh. Sighing, Harry took a spoonful of the potion, grimacing at the foul taste and climbed under the sheets.


	6. Chapter 6

_Five: Courting Kalyn_

The following morning, Harry awoke to the sound of his alarm. His body begged to go back to sleep and he was about to roll over when he remembered he had class. Groaning, he pushed himself to a sitting position. Sunlight was filtering through his hangings but it only mildly irritated his skin. He figured it was better than the day before when he felt like his arm was on fire. Harry threw the sheets off of him and got to his feet. After a quick stretch, he busied himself with getting ready. The Gryffindor strolled down to the Great Hall, finding Ron and Hermione.

"Morning Harry," Hermione greeted.

"Morning," Harry muttered, looking at the array of food, not feeling very hungry for any of it. In the end he took a half a muffin and a bit of scrambled egg.

"You still feeling off?" Ron asked, looking at the meager amount of food on his friend's plate.

"Uh yeah. Madam Pomfrey said to take it slow," Harry murmured, poking at his meal.

Shortly, the trio found themselves in Defense against the Dark Arts. Ron let out a groan as he sat down. Harry however did not join in the bemoaning. He was enjoying the semi-darkness of the room. Severus burst into the room, his eyes scanning the small group of students.

"Pair off," he barked in his customary drawl. The students did as they were instructed and Harry, to his great displeasure, was paired with Draco.

The image of Draco standing there, eyes glazed over in a trance, flashed before the newly turned vampire's eyes. He stared at the blond, not listening to the instructions. Severus seemed to notice Harry's inattentiveness because the boy heard his sire's voice in his head.

'You obviously were not paying attention so listen now. You are to practice stunning and disarming hexes nonverbally. And next time I will not repeat myself.'

Harry shook his head to refocus himself. He locked eyes with Malfoy and tried to think of a good spell to use. Levicorpus popped to the forefront of his mind but he didn't want to risk Snape questioning him. He finally settled for Expelliarmus and the full-body bind. He tried to cast the spells without speaking a word and almost succeeded when Draco suddenly punched Harry in the mouth. Harry stumbled backwards but caught his balance.

"What is going on here?" Severus snarled, descending upon the two boys.

"I have no idea. He just hit me," Harry answered, wiping at the trickle of blood flowing from his lip. He ran his tongue over the wound, healing it.

"Mr. Malfoy, explain yourself," Severus demanded.

"He was going to hit me with an Unforgivable," Draco accused.

"I was not!" Harry shot back.

"Liar," the Slytherin growled, trying to take another swing.

"Mr. Malfoy, I will see you in my office this evening at seven o'clock. Class is dismissed," Severus called, looking at Harry.

'Come with me,' Severus muttered silently. Harry grabbed his bags, shot his friends a look to go on without him and followed his sire into the room next door.

"I swear I wasn't going to use an Unforgivable on him!" Harry protested once Snape had shut the door.

"Then what were you going to use?" Severus inquired, arms crossed over his chest.

"Expelliarmus and Petrificus Totalus," Harry answered.

"I suggest you master communicating silently quickly. It will aid you in nonverbal spells. You may go," Severus remarked and opened the door.

Harry rushed to Transfiguration just as McGonagall walked in the other door. Harry sat down and took out quill and parchment and began to take notes on her lecture. He tried to concentrate but his body was telling him, begging him for sleep. Before he knew it he felt Hermione's elbow in his ribs. He looked at her.

"What?" he mouthed.

"You fell asleep," she hissed back.

"Oh," he replied and stifled a yawn.

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully until dinner. He really didn't want to have sit and pick at a plate of food he wasn't going to eat. Instead he checked his watch, 5:32, and decided he'd pay Snape a visit. He made his way down to the dungeons and knocked on the door. It was pulled open by Severus several seconds later.

"Yes?"

"Are you um…busy right now?" Harry inquired, shoving his hands into the pockets of his robes.

"If you were paying attention I have given Mr. Malfoy detention at seven," Severus said, not really answering his student's question.

"I know. But its five thirty now. I'm sure we could be back in plenty of time," Harry said hurriedly.

"Alright. Just give me a moment," Severus muttered and shut the door. A couple minutes later he emerged in a traveling cloak.

The pair snuck out of the castle and into Hogsmeade. They prowled the streets until Harry decided on a young man sweeping the storefront of a trinket shop.

"So how do I do this exactly?" Harry asked softly as he surveyed the young man.

"Approach him and make small talk. Then lure him somewhere private," Severus answered.

"Ok. I can do that. But what about the memory I thing. I can't do that," Harry asked nervously.

"You haven't tried yet," Severus muttered with a tone of finality.

With a deep breath Harry approached the young man, who had just gone back into the shop. Harry pushed open the door and walked in. The man had taken up a seat behind a front counter. Harry sauntered up to it, leaning his elbows on the edge.

"Can I help you Sir?" the young man asked, his accent Scottish.

"Maybe. I'm looking for something for my dad. It's his birthday next week and I wanted to get him something special," Harry said, formulating the lie carefully.

"Well lets see. What does your old man like?"

Harry's eyes wandered over the shelves until he spotted boxes of dragon hide gloves.

"He needs some new gloves," Harry replied.

"What size is he? We've got plenty right over here," the man said, moving over to the shelf.

"Um, I think he wears a size 7," the Gryffindor answered.

"Doesn't look like we've got any sevens out. Let me go check the back room," the clerk said and headed towards the back room.

Harry waited a minute or two and then followed him back as quietly as he could. He intercepted the man as he was coming back out with a box.

"I found…Sir. You ok?" he asked as he saw Harry's eyes take on shards of gold.

"Yeah. Just relax," Harry said, taking the box from the man and closing the gap between them.

Harry was amazed to see the man's eyes glaze over like he'd seen Draco's do. Taking that as a signal that it was safe to drink, he sunk his teeth into the man's neck, savoring the flavor. He took a fair amount before he healed the wounds. He sat the man down on a crate until he regained consciousness.

"What happened?" the man asked, clutching his head.

"You were gone a while and I got worried. I came back and you'd passed out," Harry lied, hoping he was doing it right.

"Oh. I do feel a bit light headed," the young clerk said, rubbing at his eyes.

"Here I'll help you," Harry offered, picking the man up and leading him out to the front and seated him in his chair.

"Have a nice night," Harry called as he walked out.

He encountered Severus a block or so away, looking content.

"Well?"

"I think I did it right. I told him he'd passed out getting me a box of gloves and he seemed to believe me," Harry answered, beaming.

"Good. Did you take enough?" Severus asked.

"I think so," Harry answered.

With that, the pair headed back to the school. They parted ways in the dungeons and Harry headed back up to the Gryffindor Common Room. He found it unusually crowded but managed to grab a seat next to Ron and Hermione.

"Hey Hermione, Can I see your notes from Transfiguration?" Harry asked casually.

"You should have taken your own," Hermione scolded.

"I was! But like you said I fell asleep," the young vampire answered with a shrug.

She handed them over with an accompanying eye roll. Harry copied them down and thanked her. He then set about doing his potions assignment. By that point, Ron had fallen asleep on his closed Defense book. Harry and Hermione shared a laugh and parted ways for the night. Harry couldn't fall asleep that night. His body was telling him that he didn't need to go to sleep. That the night hours were the hours to be awake. Finally at 3:30, he managed to cam his mind enough to fall asleep.

Waking up the next morning was even harder than the morning before. He missed Potions as he overslept. He walked into the library a couple hours later looking puffy eyed and very grumpy. He found Ginny seated at a table reading. He joined her.

"You look dreadful. You feeling alright Harry?" the youngest Weasley commented, looking concerned.

"I couldn't fall asleep last night," he muttered, his head resting on his books.

"Maybe I should just go back to bed," Harry muttered into his books to which Ginny nodded.

Harry did just that. HE wasn't really concerned with his classes. His body wanted sleep and he was going to get it. He awoke at 5:15, the sun having disappeared from the room. He felt refreshed. As he sat up, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," he called. Kalyn walked in.

"Hi," he greeted her.

"Severus said you missed classes today," she commented, moving to sit on the edge of Ron's bed.

"Yeah. I needed sleep," Harry answered with a shrug.

"He wants to know if you took the potion last night," she murmured.

"Yes. I just didn't feel like getting up," Harry retorted.

"I guessed that. It's a pain to be awake when you'd rather be asleep, especially when its during a time when you really shouldn't be awake," Kalyn said.

"Are you hungry?" she inquired. The sixteen-year-old nodded vigorously.

"Let's go then."

They found themselves in Hogsmeade. Today finding a decent meal was easy. Harry was able to feed several times and take a generous amount from each victim. Half an hour later, Harry found himself strolling down a deserted stretch of road with Kalyn at his side.

"Oh. We forgot to tell you one other rule last night. We were a bit rushed and all. It is important not to feed from the same person more than twice. If you keep feeding from them…" she trailed off.

"They'll end up like me," Harry finished for her and she nodded.

"You got it," she said with a smile.

"Can I ask you a question?" Harry blurted.

"Of course."

"How old are you?" he questioned.

She took a deep breath. "Technically I'm 97."

"You don't look a day over 14 or 15,' Harry remarked, looking shocked.

"Well when I was turned I was 15," Kalyn answered, spotting a bench and sitting down. Harry followed suit.

"I'm confused."

"Ok so you're what 16 now?" Kalyn asked, receiving a nod.

"Well you aren't going to physically age anymore. You treat your turning date as your birthday from now on. Does that make sense?" she explained.

"Sort of. So you're saying I'm like…a newborn. And next year I'll be a year old?" Harry asked, hoping he'd gotten the concept right.

"Yes. I know it sounds really depressing at first," she muttered with a laugh.

"You could say that again. So how old is Snape?" the boy wanted to know.

"I think he's 5," she answered. Harry laughed.

"Each of us is young once," she stated firmly.

"Do you know Alena?" the famous wizard queried.

"I do indeed. She's 129." Harry's jaw dropped.

"So who is your sire?"

"Harry. I'm not your typical vampire. I had always been fascinated with the legends and myths of vampires as a child. And when I found out their existence was real, I sought out a coven," Kalyn began.

"I learned about them first hand and I found that they were so amazing. I wanted to be like them, to be one of them. So I offered myself up until I was turned. Unfortunately, my father found out and killed my sire and several of my new family. Alena taught me everything I know," she finished, looking sad.

"I'm sorry," Harry murmured, laying his hand on hers comfortingly.

"it was a long time ago. And we should be getting back. No more missing classes," she chided.

"Ok, ok," the boy whispered, his gaze cast towards the ground.

The walk back to the castle was silent but not a painful silence.

'You're doing really well for just being turned,' he heard in his head.

"Thanks," he said aloud.

'Try saying it in your head to me,' she told him.

Harry concentrated as hard as he could. 'Thanks,' he said, thinking of her.

'You're welcome,' she replied as they reached the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Night. Thanks for going with me," Harry whispered, hugging her quickly.


	7. Chapter 7

_Six: Sneaking Sire_

It had been two months since Harry had been turned. He'd managed to get to classes without too much trouble and he was doing well in potions for once, thanks to the Half-Blood Prince. In the past week or so Harry had noticed Snape slip back into his usual hatred of the boy and that bothered Harry. Presently the Gryffindor was standing next to Luna Lovegood at Professor Slughorn's Christmas party.

"You really shouldn't become an Auror Harry," she told him in her day dream voice.

"Yeah? Why's that?" Harry replied, taking another sip of water.

"They're part of the Rotfang Conspiracy to take down the Ministry. The Aurors and gum disease," the blond answered and wandered off.

Harry just shook his head as his friend disappeared into the crowd. He downed the rest of his water and set his cup down on a table that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Suddenly he saw Draco leave, Snape not far behind him. Harry's curiosity got the better of him and he followed after his sire. He kept at a distance, not wanting to be caught. He lost the pair rounding a corner but his sensitive ears picked up voices coming from behind a locked door. He pressed himself close to the key hole, trying to hear what was being said. He didn't catch much, except for multiple mentions of an "unbreakable vow" Snape had made. Harry backed away from the door and snuck off just as he heard the handle turn and the door open. Harry held his breath, hiding behind a suit of armor. He watched Draco go one direction and Snape the other. Once both Slytherins were gone, Harry made his back to Gryffindor Tower.

"Ron, I've got to tell you something," the young vampire said as he took a seat next to the redhead.

"Yeah?"

"I just overheard Malfoy and Snape talking about an Unbreakable Vow."

"An Unbreakable Vow!" Ron gasped, looking horrified.

"What? What is it exactly?" Harry inquired.

"Well...you can't break it," Ron began.

"I'd figured that out funnily enough," his friend retorted dryly.

"And if you do…you die," Ron finished, looking slightly pale.

Harry's eyes went wide. What had Snape done? He was going to find out what was going on. The famous wizard waited until everyone else was in bed before sneaking from the Common Room and down towards the dungeons. Halfway there he felt someone behind him. Turning slowly, Harry saw the tall, dark form of Professor Snape.

"And where are you going Mr. Potter?" he drawled in his customary manner.

"To find you," the boy answered coolly.

"You are aware it is after hours," Severus remarked, looking at his offspring suspiciously.

"Really? I was wondering why the halls were so empty," Harry shot back.

'Do not use that tone with me,' Harry heard in his head.

"Come with me," Severus barked, grabbing Harry roughly by the arm.

Severus dragged Harry the rest of the way to his office. He tossed the 16-year-old at a chair and slammed the door. Rounding on the boy, Snape's eyes turned dangerous.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't give you detention and dock points for being out of bed after hours," Severus hissed, leaning over his desk.

"Oh please this isn't about detention or house points," Harry shot back heatedly.

'You are trying my patience Potter.'

'So sorry,' the boy snarled back.

"Why were you looking for me?" Severus questioned; his tone a half degree less harsh.

"I overheard you and Malfoy talking about an Unbreakable Vow," Harry began.

"That is none of your business," Severus interrupted.

"He's a Death Eater," Harry cried.

"You think I don't know that!"

"Well of course you do! You're on his side," the famous wizard hissed.

"Get out of my office now," Professor Snape ordered, his hand pointing shakily to the door.

'Keep your nose out of things that do not concern you,' Harry heard echo in his head.

'Fuck you,' he shot back as he slammed the door behind him.

"Twenty points for Gryffindor!" Severus bellowed.

Harry slunk back towards Gryffindor Tower, fuming. He couldn't Snape had kicked him out. Was his sire really on Voldemort's side? Harry couldn't just drop it. He needed to talk to someone who would listen to him and side with him.

'Kalyn. I need to talk to you,' he called as loudly as he could in his head.

'Where are you?' her voice answered.

"Hogwarts.'

'Alright. I'll be there as soon as I can.'

Harry went and sat in the Entrance. Twenty minutes later, the doors opened and Kalyn walked in followed by Alena. Harry stood up and walked towards them.

"What's wrong? You look upset," Kalyn commented.

"I hate him," Harry muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"He can be frustrating," Alena agreed.

"He's a sneaking traitor," the boy exploded, beginning to pace. The two women exchanged surprised glances.

"Care to elaborate?" Alena inquired.

"He made an unbreakable vow and he won't tell me what it's about," Harry explained, still walking around.

"Did it occur to you that maybe it's none of your business?" Kalyn suggested

"Whose side are you on?" Harry shot.

"No one is taking sides Harry," Alena interjected.

"You wanted to talk to me. I'm here and I'm giving you my two cents," Kalyn said calmly, though her eyes betrayed her calmness. The usual sea-green was clouded with orange.

"You know he used to be a Death Eater," Harry muttered.

"Yes. He used to be but he is not any longer. Not in practice anyway," Alena spoke softly.

"How do you know? I mean he could be fooling everyone," Harry expounded.

"Dumbledore trusts him…and so do I. He's had a rough past but he's not evil," Alena replied, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, staying him.

"I just get the feeling whatever that vow is about is not good," the boy muttered.

"You're probably right Harry. It's not good. But it doesn't mean he has to tell you what it pertains to. You don't go around telling everyone your secrets do you?" Kalyn interjected, looking at the boy, her eyes clear once more.

"No."

"Then you need to respect his privacy. If he feels it is right and necessary for you know, he'll tell you," Alena said.

"Like it or not, he's your sire and you're stuck with him for a very long time. So I'd try to get along with him. Yes, you'll have your ups and downs. Lord knows we do. But you've got to have some faith in him," Alena finished.

"It's getting late. You need to get to bed. Go on," she said, ushering Harry towards the stairs.

'Good night,' Kalyn called to him.

'Yeah whatever,' he whispered back as he trudged up the stairs. That had not gone at all the way he'd thought it would. How was he supposed to trust and have faith in his enemy?


	8. Chapter 8

_Seven: Trusting Tears_

The end of the school term was at hand and Harry was on overload. Not only did he have to juggle schoolwork with hunting down Voldemort's horcruxes and spying on Draco but also keeping his new identity a secret. He was surprised with himself that he'd been able to keep something of this magnitude from Ron, Hermione and Ginny. Harry had also been doing his best to avoid Alena, Kalyn and Severus. He was still hurt that Snape wouldn't tell him what was going on and that the girls had sided with the Professor. The Boy-Who-Lived let out a deep sigh as he walked along the Defense corridor. His ears pricked up as he heard voices; voices he knew well by now.

"He hasn't talked to us since December, Severus," Alena said in a hushed voice.

"Well if it makes you feel any better he's been avoiding me as well," Severus shot back.

"Us it's sort of understandable. But you, you're his sire. And he's so young. He needs you," Kalyn piped up. Harry took a deep breath before opening the door to the classroom and walking in.

"Nice to know people talk about me behind my back," he said coolly, leaning on the doorframe.

The other three occupants in the room looked at him with matching worried expressions. Harry's emerald gaze met each of theirs in turn. He dropped his gaze when he got to Severus. There was no telling what he would do. It was then that Harry noticed something about Snape; he was wearing a silver chain with a small cross on it, an perfect sphere of onyx in the center.

"Close the door," he ordered. Harry moved into the room and shut the door behind him, making sure it was still unlocked.

'Relax,' came Kalyn's voice in Harry's head.

"Why don't you sit down Harry," she voiced aloud, sitting down herself.

Harry sat, his eyes shifting between the other three vampires in the room. No one spoke for a long while and Harry considered just getting up and leaving when Severus finally spoke.

"You need to stop avoiding us," he began.

'Severus. Take it down a notch. He's already edgy,' Alena reprimanded silently.

"Look. I have work I could be doing right now. So whatever you have to say just say it," Harry spat.

Severus took a breath before responding. "I was going to compliment you on how well you've kept this from your friends and other confidants," Severus said calmly.

"Oh," the boy murmured.

"We're actually very glad you're here Harry. We want to clear some things up. Get rid of this tension," Alena interjected. Harry nodded for her to go on.

"Just talk to us. We know you're angry. We want to know why," the eldest vampire murmured gently, coaxing him almost.

"I just felt as though you two were siding against me when I needed someone to be on my side," the teen began, not looking at Snape.

"I wasn't expecting you to stick up for him," he continued.

"You obviously felt wronged somehow. Care to explain what exactly how you felt you were wronged?" Severus interrupted.

"I wanted to know what that vow was about and you wouldn't tell me," Harry answered simply.

"Not everything is for your ears Mr. Potter," Severus retorted.

"If it was for you to know, I assure you, you would know," he added, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Does Dumbledore know about it?" Harry blurted.

"Yes the Headmaster knows," Severus answered with a nod in the affirmative.

"Ok. Then I'll just ask him," the Gryffindor shot. Severus ran a hand over his eyes in exasperation.

"I don't see how Harry knowing hurts anything Severus," Kalyn suggested.

'He'll try to take my head off if I tell him,' told the girl silently.

"Last summer I was approached by Mr. Malfoy's mother," Severus began, looking Harry squarely in the eye.

"And I entered into an agreement with her to protect and aide Draco in his…task. And if it comes to it, perform the task for him," Severus explained nervously.

"What task?" Harry queried. Severus was expecting this question.

"He is to…kill the Headmaster," Severus murmured, not breaking eye contact.

"And you're going to help him!" Harry roared.

"Keep your voice down," Severus snapped.

"You traitor!" the boy growled, brandishing his wand. Severus waved his hand and Harry's wand lay out of reach on the ground.

"You won't get away with it," he continued, trying to get at his wand.

Severus shoved Harry against the wall, pinning him there. Harry struggled against his sire's iron grip. Kalyn made a move to break it up but Alena stayed her.

'Let them work it out,' she said soothingly to the younger woman.

"Get your facts straight before you start accusing people of things they are not. Up until two weeks ago I was doing my best to find a way out of having to do it," the Professor hissed.

"What changed?" Harry managed to get out.

"He forced me to make another Vow. No matter how I feel about the matter I have to go through with it. I'm going tot ell you know Mr. Potter. The only person who could rightfully call me a traitor is the Dark Lord," he finished, letting the boy go.

"So you're on our side then?" the Gryffindor questioned, straightening his robes. The older man nodded.

"You are to speak of this to no one; none of the staff, none of your friends. Do you understand?"

"Yes Sir," Harry answered.

"You may go."

Harry looked at Alena and Kalyn and then pulled open the door. Just as he was about to close it, Kalyn appeared. They began to walk in silence towards Gryffindor Tower.

"I don't want to go back just yet. How about we go this way," Harry murmured, finally breaking the silence. Kalyn followed him.

"I'm sorry I've been avoiding you," Harry said as they continued to wander the corridors.

"It's ok. I understand. You were upset. I forgive you," she answered, smiling and squeezing his hand.

"Have you been feeding alright? Do you have enough potions? God I sound like you're mother," Kalyn babbled.

"I've been feeding alright. It's kind of lonely all by myself and I have enough potions to get through the rest of the year," Harry answered.

"So what happens if he does do it. What do we do then?" he questioned, changing the subject.

"I…I'm not really sure what happens. It's never happened. He can't die. Well I mean he can but it would take a bit of work," she rambled.

"What do you mean it would take a little work?" Harry pressed; stopping and looking her in the eyes.

"Well you saw that cross he's got on?" she asked. Harry indicated he did.

"Well it's…special. It's a horcrux," she whispered, afraid if she spoke it too loudly some unseen force would make her regret it.

"Excuse me? Did you just say he's got a horcrux?" Harry sputtered.

"Yes."

"So he's immortal. Who'd he kill?"

"It's really not for me to tell you Harry. You'd have to ask him," Kalyn murmured.

Harry began to head back the way they'd come, presumably to find Snape. Not two feel down the hall Kalyn caught his arm.

"Don't ask him tonight. Wait a day or two. Just…don't ask him about it tonight," Kalyn begged.

"Ok. I'll ask him tomorrow then," Harry answered.

Kalyn looked relieved. Without thinking he leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. He slipped his hands around her waste, pulling her in close. Her arms began to move upwards but stopped at his chest. She broke the kiss and gave him a confused look.

"You have a girlfriend Harry," she said, sounding hurt.

"We broke up a few days ago. It's safer for her. Voldemort used her once against me and that was just because she was my best friend's sister. If he found she was my girlfriend there's no telling what he'd do," Harry explained.

Harry blushed. "I'm sorry.. I shouldn't have done that," he apologized.

"I think it'd be safer for me as well if we didn't get into a relationship right now," she said, looking sad.

"Yeah. You're right," he answered.

"It's not that I wouldn't like a more intimate relationship Harry. It just wouldn't be sensible right now,' Kalyn explained.

"I understand," Harry assured her, pulling her into a hug.

"You should get back before you get in trouble," she whispered against her shoulder.

They parted company and went their separate ways. The following evening Harry approached Snape as their paths crossed in the Transfiguration corridor. Neither spoke, just continued walking, albeit Harry had changed his direction.

'I wanted to ask you something,' Harry began as casually as he could.

'I thought we cleared everything up yesterday,' Severus responded.

"It's not about the vow. It's about that," Harry spoke aloud, pointing to the cross around his sire's neck.

"I assume Kalyn told you what it is," Severus muttered.

"Yes. She seemed really upset about telling me though. And told me to ask you about it," Harry continued.

'My father,' the man spoke silently.

"What?" Harry blurted, looking confused.

'I killed my father in order to create this,' Severus expounded.

'You killed your own father? Sounds a lot like Voldemort,' Harry remarked.

'Yes well at least I knew my father. I did it as soon as I graduated. Out of revenge for my mother's death. Which he caused. So now you know,' Severus concluded.

"I don't blame you for doing it," Harry retorted sympathetically.

"But...why do you keep it so close?" Harry questioned.

"So I can ensure its safe-keeping," Snape answered.

"Makes sense," Harry muttered with a nod.

'You wouldn't happen to know anything about Voldemort's horcruxes would you?'

'Not really but I will keep an eye out if you wish.'

'That would be helpful. Thanks,' Harry said and smiled up at his sire.

'Have you fed yet?' Severus inquired.

'Not yet. Care to join me?' Harry answered and received a nod. The pair snuck off to Hogsmeade in search of a good end of year meal.

Two weeks later Harry found himself soaring back towards Hogwarts with Dumbledore. They landed at the top of the Astronomy Tower and Harry drew in a breath, the Dark Mark glittering above them. They were about to descend when Draco Malfoy appeared, followed by three other Death Eaters. Harry was suddenly unable to move and he watched in horror as first Draco threatened to kill Dumbledore. Harry hoped for some strange reason that Draco would do it. But the blond did not go through with it. In the end Severus appeared and spoke the two words that made Harry want to vomit. The Headmaster's body flew over the side of the tower with Snape and the other Death Eaters fleeing the scene. Able to move again, Harry rushed after then.

'What happens now?' he shouted at Severus.

'Alena will find you later,' Severus replied.

"Leave him! He is for the Dark Lord!" Severus bellowed to the darkly robed figures around him.

Harry watched as Draco and Severus disappeared from sight. He fought back the tears as he told Professor McGonagall who had killed the Headmaster and did his best to look hateful towards the man. It was much harder than he had thought. Having prior knowledge of the event made it less of a shock really. Several days later, Alena had not shown up and Harry began to grow nervous. Dumbledore's funeral was an emotional affair, seeing the old wizard's body explode in a flash of white light As he, Ron and Hermione began to walk back up to the castle, he caught something out of the corner of his eye, a tall blond figure with dark blue eyes.

'We need to talk,' Harry heard in his head.

'I'll meet you in the Prefect's bathroom on the 5th floor,' Harry answered.

The trio reached the castle and Harry parted company, mumbling about needing to be alone. He rushed to the fifth floor Prefect's bathroom and found Alena sitting on the edge of the large circular bathtub.

"Have you seen him?" Harry asked, once he'd shut the door.

"Yes. He's fine. He wanted me to give you these," Alena answered, handing over a pouch of vials. Harry took them.

"I don't suppose you could tell me where he is?" the boy asked.

"I'm not going to tell anyone else I swear," he added hastily.

"The address is in there. You're welcome any time. You are on your for the most part right now. But you know where we are and we're all just a thought away," Alena said, getting up and laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks. I'll do my best," Harry murmured and gave her a smile before walking out.


	9. Chapter 9

_Eight: Sun Stroke_

The first week of July rolled around too fast for Harry. He rolled over as he pulled the sheets over his head, blocking the sun's rays but they could not block out the rumbling bellowing of his Uncle.

"Get up boy!' Vernon Dursley shouted.

Harry did not move. He didn't want to get up. It was summer for Merlin's sake. He had taken his potion the night before but it didn't mean that he had to get up to the sun's painful call. If only he could avoid his Uncle. Loud pounding sounded on the boy wizard's door.

"I said get up!"

"Go away," his nephew grumbled back.

The door flew open and a purple faced Vernon stormed in, towering menacingly over his nephew.

"How dare you talk back to me," he growled.

"Look I leave today, so just let me be. Please," Harry told his Uncle as calmly as he could.

Vernon grunted and seemed to mutter something under his breath but left the room, shutting the door with a 'slam'. Harry sighed and went back to sleep, not waking until 5:50. He sat up and stretched his arms above his head. He slid out of bed and took a look around his room. It was the last time he was going to see this room, this house ever again. A smile spread over his young face as he tossed clothes and books haphazardly into his trunk.

"Let's get out of here Hedwig," he said softly to his owl. She hooted back at him happily.

Harry tucked his wand into his pants pocket and made sure he had the pouch of vials Alena had given him. Taking one last look around the room he pulled open the door and proceeded downstairs. He didn't bother saying goodbye to his family. He concentrated and disapparated, arriving at 12 Grimmauld Place seconds later, body, owl and trunk all in tact. He moved towards the door as nonchalantly as possible and slipped inside without being seen. He sighed sadly, as he took in the familiar surroundings and had to wipe a tear away at the memories that flooded his mind.

"Harry!" Hermione called from the sitting room.

"Hi. Sorry I'm late," he said, dragging his trunk into the room.

"It's alright mate," Ron answered, setting a bottle of butterbeer on the table.

"We're the only ones here right?" Harry asked, his gaze shifting nervously around. He received suspicious looks from his friends.

"Yes. I know you told the Order they could use the house for their headquarters but no one else is here," Hermione answered with a raised eyebrow.

"Just checking. Snape knows where the house is and how to get in," Harry said defensively. It wasn't a complete lie. But it wasn't his sire he was worried about.

"I'm hungry. Let's eat," Ron piped up.

"Fine. Let's find something to eat so you don't start to complain," Hermione huffed, dragging the redhead into the kitchen.

"I'll be down in a bit. I'm going to go unpack," Harry announced, charming his trunk to float at his side.

Once he was free of his companions, he rushed upstairs, laying his trunk down. He saw Ron's luggage in the room as well and considered using one of the spare rooms. But then, Ron would start to suspect something. Sitting on the bed, the young vampire closed out the other thoughts and focused.

'Kalyn?' he called out. There was no answer. Harry's brow furrowed. He thought he'd gotten good at this and that his signal, as it were, reached pretty far.

'Severus?' he tried this time.

'What? Where are you?' came his sire's reply.

'Grimmauld Place. It's just me, Ron and Hermione,' Harry answered laying back on the pillows.

'Where's Kalyn?' Harry asked before Snape could reply.

'Out.'

'Are you doing ok?' the boy wizard questioned, concern in his thoughts.

'I'm fine. Worry about yourself. You have much more important things to do than concern yourself with me,' Severus snapped.

'Sorry. I was just being concerned,' Harry retorted.

"Harry, are you eating?" Hermione yelled up the stairs, interrupting Harry and Severus' mental conversation. Harry jumped, completely disoriented. He'd never been interrupted before.

"Yes," he called back.

'I have to go,' he told his sire.

'Watch your back,' Severus ordered before Harry's head fell silent.

Harry took a moment to reorient himself with his surroundings. He didn't feel much like eating but he felt he must put in an appearance anyhow. He wandered into the kitchen to find Hermione and Ron consuming pasta.

"Where'd you find this?" Harry queried as he sat down and a plate was passed to him.

"I made it," Hermione admitted, blushing.

"She's bloody brilliant!" Ron proclaimed around a mouthful of pasta.

"Smells great, 'Mione," Harry admonished.

To his friend's blush, he stuck his fork in and swirled a bit of it, placing it in his mouth and swallowing. It was pretty good but Harry had started to get used to not eating much. Despite his small appetite he managed to eat the entire plate, only feeling slightly sick at the end. The rest of the night the trio sat around; Hermione engrossed in a book, Ron staring off into space and Harry with quill and parchment in hand.

"Mate, what you doing?" Ron inquired, looking over as Harry's quill scratched away.

"Just making a list of all of Voldemort's possible remaining Horcruxes," the boy wizard answered.

"Hey. Tomorrow, I need your help to look for the locket," he muttered without looking up.

Harry stared down at his list, not at all interested in the task. He wanted to be out, prowling the streets, replenishing his blood supply. He was beginning to get antsy and jumped in alarm when the clock struck 10 o'clock.

"I'm going to bed," Hermione announced as she closed her book.

"Me too. I'm beat," Ron added, unsuccessfully stifling a yawn.

"Honestly Ronald. You didn't do anything today," Hermione scolded.

Harry just watched his friends go up the stairs. When his sensitive ears assured him it was safe, he snuck out the front door, jogging down the street. He wandered around, getting to know the neighborhood. He caught sight of a young man walking down the street towards Harry. The vampire's nostrils flared as he picked up the scent of alcohol. He knew it wasn't a great idea but he was hungry and he doubted he'd find another meal for a while without wandering out of his comfort zone. It took only a few minutes to bring the man under a trance. Harry fed generously, trying to ignore the alcoholic taste of the blood. Once he'd had his fill, Harry sat the man down on a nearby bench, making sure he was ok before returning to 12 Grimmauld Place. He quietly ascended the stairs and snuck into the room he was sharing with Ron. The redhead was fast asleep and Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he took his potion and slipped beneath the covers.

Harry's eyes shot open, sweat pouring down his face. He sat up and immediately felt light headed. What the hell was wrong with him? Suddenly his mind brought him back to the night before and the drunkard he's taken from.

"Not doing that again," he muttered to himself as he looked over at Ron's bed. It was empty.

He heard muffled noises outside the door, slightly down the hall by the sound of it. Laying down quickly, he closed his eyes just in time for the door open and Ron rushed in, followed by an irritated-sounding Hermione.

"Ron, don't. It will only make him upset," Hermione hissed.

"Harry, get up. Come on. You need to come downstairs," Ron said loudly, ignoring Hermione. He shook Harry rather vigorously.

"What?" Harry mumbled, trying to act as if he'd just woken up.

"Downstairs. You've got to see," Ron urged again.

"This isn't going to end well," Hermione muttered to herself as the threesome headed downstairs and into the kitchen. Harry's jaw dropped.

The entirety of the Order stood in the kitchen. Hermione elbowed Harry discreetly in the ribs to stop him from gawking like a fish caught on a line. Minerva was the first to step forward.

"I trust your summer is going uninterrupted so far Harry?" she said gently, seeming a bit frail, not quite herself.

"Until now," Harry answered crossly.

"What are you all doing here?" he addressed the group.

"Last summer you said we could use the mansion as our headquarters," Remus answered.

"Yeah…well that was then. This is now," he grumbled. He really didn't like all these people around. There was too much change he could get caught. And knowing them, they'd be breathing down his neck.

"Harry, you did say they could use it. There's no need to be mean about it," Hermione scolded.

"You aren't my Mum, Hermione," he snapped, before turning swiftly in the other direction and going back upstairs.

"What's wrong with him?" Tonks asked, looking rather taken aback by the boy's actions.

"He just lost his mentor. Give him some space," Remus said softly.

"There was no need for him to be so rude," Molly retorted.

Harry sat on his bed upstairs, feeling really woozy. He tried to concentrate, blocking out the people downstairs.

'Hello?' he called. Anyone who answered at this point would be fine with him.

'Harry?' Alena's voice echoed.

'I feel sick,' he said, the queasiness reflected in his tone.

'What happened? Do I need to get Severus?'

'Last night…I fed from a drunken guy. I know I shouldn't but it was getting late and I was starving,' Harry told her.

'It's just the alcohol. It will wear off. You need to rest, get some more sleep so your body can fight it,' Alena answered.

'I think I might need to talk to Severus after all. There's a small problem,' Harry added, sounding nervous.

'What happened?' Severus' voice boomed.

'Christ, don't do that!' Harry shot.

'Well what is your problem?'

'The Order showed up this morning. I want them gone but I can't just kick them out. I mean they are going to be watching over my shoulder. What if I get caught?' Harry asked franticly.

'Just be careful and watch your back,' Severus instructed.

'Easy for you to say. You aren't here,' Harry mumbled.

"Is he ok?" Molly asked, peering in the doorway. To an onlooker, Harry appeared to be in a trance.

"I…I don't know,' Minerva answered, stepping into the room.

"Mr. Potter?" she asked, shaking Harry by the shoulder.

"Huh?" Harry asked, jolted from his conversation.

"You looked as if you were in trance," Minerva said.

"Oh. Uh…I need to go back to sleep. I feel ill," the boy wizard muttered and climbed under the covers. The two women left him to his sleep.

The days that followed the arrival of the Order were stress-filled for Harry. He was forced to get up in the morning like everyone else and eat with them. Molly was trying to force feed him as much food as she could. It wasn't going to do any good. Harry had been so distracted with trying to feed with the Order around that he'd completely forgotten about the Horcrux hunt. No one seemed to mention it to him either. Presently, Harry was seated in the sitting room, looking very pale and ill. He hadn't been able to feed in days. Order members were on around-the-clock surveillance which meant it was damn near impossible to sneak out at night. He was also rapidly running out of potion and Severus hadn't told him how to brew more.

"Harry, you look awful," Hermione commented as she looked up from her book. The boy's eyes were barely keeping themselves open.

"Maybe I should go to bed," Harry murmured and nearly fell out of the chair in an effort to stand up. His body was slowly shutting itself down to conserve the little fresh blood he had in his system.

It took several of the adults to heave the boy upstairs and into bed. Little did they know that they weren't the only ones worried about Harry's failing health. In a small flat on the outskirts of London, Severus was pacing back and forth, a worried expression his face.

"Severus stop that," Alena snapped.

"He hasn't been in contact in days. That cannot be a good sign. I get the feeling he's not feeding well. We need to intervene," he spat back.

"That would go over smashingly well," she retorted.

"I know where the house is and how to get in. I won't go in. I'm not stupid. I'll wear an invisibility cloak," Severus proposed.

"Alright. Let's go. If he hasn't fed we'll need blood and lots of it," Kalyn said from the doorway, startling the other two vampires.

All three were in agreement and set about gathering as much stored blood as they could find. As they were walking out the door, Kalyn stopped, looking worried.

"They aren't just going to let us in," she said softly.

"We'll let them interrogate us but insist we need to see Harry before his condition worsens," Alena answered. Severus shrugged. He wasn't going to be doing much but getting them there. It was up to them to revive his offspring. Without another word they apparated to 12 Grimmauld Place. Remus and Molly were standing guard.

"Who are you?" Molly asked, eyeing Alena and Kalyn suspiciously.

"We're mediwitches. We're here to see Harry Potter," Kalyn answered.

"We were told he's very ill," Alena added.

"Minerva did say something about getting mediwitches," Remus muttered to Molly. After a once-over, the two women were admitted. Remus escorted them up to Harry and Ron's room.

"Mediwitches," he informed the small mass huddled around Harry's bed.

"Oh thank God!" Minerva exclaimed.

"I think he's in a coma. He just collapsed," she informed the new comers.

"We'll take it from here," Kalyn said authoritatively.

"Please. If everyone could wait downstairs, we'll look him over and give you a diagnosis," Alena added and ushered everyone out.

"He looks horrible," Kalyn murmured, stroking his air affectionately.

"Let's get to work," Alena interrupted.

Harry's subconscious swam into focus for a moment; vaguely registering voices in the far distance. They seemed familiar and safe. And then he lost them again.


	10. Chapter 10

_Nine: Found Again_

Alena's scanned Harry's body. He was unbelievably pale and his heart rate was dangerously slow. If they didn't get blood into him he was going to suffer brain damage. She turned her gaze on Kalyn. The girl was doing her best to keep her composure.

"Do you have the needle?" Alena questioned. Without replying, Kalyn handed her mentor the IV.

"What are we going to tell them is wrong with him?" Kalyn piped as Alena started pumping blood into Harry's vein.

"I don't know yet. We need to get most of this blood into him first. That should give us ample time to come up with a diagnosis," Alena replied, perching on the edge of Harry's bed.

She ran her fingers across his brow. He was cold to the touch. Her heart went out to him. She watched the blood swirling into the young vampire, praying he would be alright. She knew that Severus would be beside himself if something happened to the boy, whether he admitted it or not.

'How is he?' Severus' voice resounded in Alena's head, causing her to smirk.

'Speak of the devil,' she said back.

'He's unconscious…comatose. We're giving him blood now. We won't know the extent of the damage until he wakes up,' she informed him.

'Do you suppose he'll be alright for the most part?'

'I hope so. I need to get back to him,' Alena commented and returned her attention to Harry's still form.

Kalyn had taken up residence in a chair on Harry's other side. She was stroking his hand with her thumb. A small river of tears of was sliding down her cheeks.

"He's going to be ok," Alena spoke soothingly.

"I know. I just feel sort of at fault. Not being able to help him earlier,' Kalyn murmured, wiping her cheeks.

"Come on. We've got to figure out what we're going to say to them," Alena transitioned.

Downstairs the Order was assembled in the sitting room. Minerva stood up to address the group. All eyes were upon her as she cleared her throat.

"I'm not sure what caused all of this but I hope they can find out," Minerva began.

"Do you think it's Voldemort?" Remus interjected.

"I have no idea Remus."

"It could be. He was in Harry's head in our fifth year. In the Department of Mysteries," Hermione supplied.

"I hope he pulls through," Molly breathed, looking pale.

"What's taking them so long?" Tonks groaned.

"He must be really bad," Ron uttered.

The group grew silent as Alena and Kalyn entered the room, looking somber. Minerva saw their expressions and reached for a chair, fearing the worst. Alena cleared her throat, trying to bide time.

"Well? What's wrong with him?" a chorus of voices asked.

"It's a bad infection. His body while trying to fight it off starting to fight itself and it started to shut down key body functions. In an effort to conserve energy, his brain slipped into a coma," Alena explained, keeping her true feelings to herself.

"We won't be sure of the real damage until he wakes up," Kalyn told them.

"When will that be?" Molly asked.

"Only he can wake himself up. We've given him some fluids to help things along. If you don't mind we'd like to monitor him for a few days," Alena answered.

"Oh of course," Minerva responded with a vigorous nod.

"We ask though that he not have any other people in the room with him until he wakes up and that we not be disturbed," Alena explained. She received some odd looks but her terms were agreed to.

The Order began to disperse, returning home or to their duties. Ron went upstairs to move his things but Alena stopped him, assuring him they would move his things. They needed to keep Harry in as sterile an environment as they could. Presently, Kalyn was changing to IV of blood. It was the seventh pint that had been forced into his vein. She turned to leave when a sound issued behind her. She whirled around and saw Harry's lips parting, his chest convulsing with coughs.

'Alena get in here. I think he's waking up!' she shouted silently. Alena burst into the room, shutting the door quickly.

Harry's eyes opened part-way, his pupils gazing out at a hazy blur. Two figures swam in front of him until his brain finally was able to bring them into focus. Alena and Kalyn were hovering over him.

"What?" he asked, his voice scratchy.

"Shh. Just rest, Harry," Alena whispered. Harry nodded, slipping back into sleep.

"Well the blood is doing what it should," she remarked to her companion.

"I just wonder when the next time he wakes up will be," Kalyn murmured.

"Well it seems kind of silly for both of us to be here right now," Alena chuckled.

"Go home Alena. I can stay with him," Kalyn replied.

"Alright. You know how to get to us if you need to," the older vampire spoke before leaving.

"Well?" was Severus' greeting when she walked in the door of the flat.

"He woke up briefly but he's sleeping now," she answered.

"Did he say anything?"

"'What'"

"Excuse me?"

"He said 'what?'," she told him.

"Oh. So I take it the blood id taking affect," he queried. She nodded and headed into the bathroom.

"I'm going to shower," she told him.

Severus returned to the book he'd been reading. He got two pages in when his thoughts were interrupted.

'Severus. You need to brew more potion,' Kalyn called out.

'I have enough.'

'Harry doesn't. I think that might have been part of the problem. Not feeding and being forced to be up and eat without the potion,' she answered.

'Alright. I'll go brew some. Alena can take it tomorrow,' he responded and set his book down.

Half an hour later, Alena emerged from the bathroom in search of her offspring. She found him hovering over a bubbling cauldron. A set of vials were resting on the table next to him, ladle in hand. She just watched at the craft for which he had been so revered. He expertly siphoned the liquid into the vials.

"Takes these tomorrow. Kalyn informed me he needed more," Severus spoke without looking up.

"Of course. Are you going to come out with me tonight?" she asked, longing for his companionship at the moment. Seeing Kalyn so upset over Harry's state made her heart long for his familiar embrace and touch. Severus nodded and the pair excited the flat in search for a midnight meal.

Back at Grimmauld Place, Harry was tossing and turning in his sleep, endangering the IV. Tentatively, Kalyn placed her hand on his shoulder, staying him. Her touch caused to him awake.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. But you were tossing about and I was afraid the IV would come out," she said in a hushed voice.

"It hurts," he mumbled, only semi-coherent.

"Take it out," he begged.

"I can't. It's making you better," she cooed, as if talking to a small child.

Harry glared at her and moved to take it out himself. He didn't give a damn if it was helping him or poisoning him to death. He wanted it out. Suddenly, he was forced flat on his back, unable to move.

"You can't take it out," she said forcefully. She released him and turned away to head back to her chair.

Before she could take another step, Harry had leapt out of the bed and grabbed her from behind. Even for being sick, his grip was strong.

"Harry. You aren't thinking clearly. You don't want to do this," Kalyn said calmly, trying to fight him off.

Harry didn't reply. His lips were traveling along her neck, leaving a trail of wet kisses. She closed her eyes, knowing at least he did not possess the ability to rape her. Drinking from her was a completely different story. In one fluid movement, Harry had her pinned to bed, his lips searching for hers.

"Harry stop," she begged as he slid his tongue between her lips.

'Alena! Severus!' she shouted as loud as she could.

'What is it? What's wrong?' Severus asked.

'He tried to take the IV out and I told no and now he's attacking me,' she gasped out in one mental breath.

'We'll be right there,' Alena assured her.

"I need you to come. You're his sire. You can calm him down," she spoke firmly.

"We'd be risking too much. They'd never let me in," Severus hissed.

"Well can't you just apparate us into the room?"

"Yes."

"Then do it!"

In seconds they were in Harry's room, watching dumbfounded as he continued pin Kalyn down. Severus strode to the bed in two steps and grabbed Harry around the middle, dragging him off the girl. Alena rushed to her side.

"Are you ok?" she asked, checking the girl over for bite marks.

"I think so. He just…" she trailed off.

Severus set the squirming Harry down on his feet and then sent his hand slamming across his face. The sound silenced the room. Harry blinked up in complete shock at Snape.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" he exploded, sounding much more himself.

"For being a damned delusional prat and attacking Kalyn," Severus shot back.

"I…what?" Harry asked, staring wide-eyed at Kalyn.

"I…didn't hurt you did I?" he asked softly, taking a step back.

"No. But you scared me half to death," she answered, getting up and closing the gap. She wrapped her arms around him.

"I know you weren't thinking right. I forgive you," Kalyn whispered in his ear as tears fell from both their eyes.

Harry let go of her and turned his attention to his sire. No one spoke for what seemed an eternity. Harry moved back towards the bed.

"How'd you get past the guards at the door?" Harry asked of his sire.

"We apparated straight here. Speaking of which, we should be leaving," Severus announced

"We'll be back in a few hours with some more potions. Get some rest and no more stressful activity," Alena ordered as she and Severus disappeared.

The rest of the night and early morning passed uneventfully. Harry drifted back to sleep, his dreams filled with thoughts of Kalyn. Why had he attacked her? He did like her, and she knew that. But she'd told him it wasn't the right time. When he awoke, he felt better than he'd felt in weeks. He was still a little pale and weak but for the most part he felt alright. He was not, however, ready to face the Order. He thought the prospect of apparating out of the house was a good idea and that way no one would see him leave and come back. Why he hadn't thought of that before was beyond him. He jumped slightly in his bed when he saw Severus standing by his bed.

"Merlin! You nearly gave me a heart attack," he grumbled. Kalyn appeared and removed the IV.

"I don't think you'll need this anymore. For one thing we've run out of blood," she said with a smile.

"I'm feeling better. Thanks for saving me. I guess I was kind of stupid," Harry admitted sheepishly.

"You're young, you don't always make the right decisions," Severus responded.

Just then the door opened the room was filled with a high-pitched scream. Harry looked to see Tonks, shaking like a leaf and Remus standing, ghastly pale at her side. The cry of distress drew the other Order members in the house, including Molly, Kingsley, Minerva, Ron and Hermione. The group stopped dead as they all took in Severus standing next to Harry's bed.

"I told you he could get in!" Ron shot.

Tonks, now having regained her composure, and Kingsley advanced on the fugitive. No one had seemed to take notice of the fact that Harry was awake. His face, which had been full of color moments before was now pale, with anger.

"No let him go!" Harry spat, getting out of bed.

"Harry. It's Snape," Hermione tried to reason with him.

"I bloody know that Hermione!" Harry shot back.

"He's wanted for murder, Harry," Minerva said, her voice taking on a cold quality.

"He had no choice in what he did," the boy wizard explained.

"Let it go," Severus hissed.

"No. They should know the truth. Dumbledore would want them to," Harry retorted.

'Don't blow our cover,' Harry heard in his head.

"What are you talking about Harry?" Remus questioned, confusion etched on his face.

"Well go on. Tell them," Harry ordered his sire. Severus rolled his eyes at the boy.

"IF you would ever so kindly let me go then I will indulge the boy," Severus drawled. Kingsley and Tonks let go of his wrists.

'You prick!' Harry snapped.

"I informed Albus of the vow that Narcissa Malfoy and I entered into last summer, in which if her son were to fail in his task from the Dark Lord, I would have to do it," he began.

"Knowing my loyalty to the Order, and thus my hesitance to fulfill the task, Albus forced me to make a second vow stating that regardless of my personal feelings towards the matter I had no choice but to fulfill the task," Severus answered.

"And we're just supposed to believe you?" Hermione shot.

"Yes. Because it's the truth," Harry retorted.

"Why do you trust him? Did he do something to you?" Molly asked, eyeing Snape disapprovingly.

"No. He didn't do anything to me," he grumbled.

'It might be fortuitous to tell them,' Alena told Severus silently. She'd been standing in the corner with Kalyn silently, watching the event unfold.

'No,' he replied.

'I'm telling them. I don't care. They need to know. If don't tell them. I'm just going to end up sick again,' Harry announced to the three vampires in the room.

"Ok so he sort of did something. But it was a good thing," Harry said, backtracking.

'This is going to turn out bad,' Kalyn remarked.

"What did he do?" Ron asked, narrowing his eyes at the former Professor.

"Well…we…" he began, pointing to Severus, himself and the two women, "are vampires."

"Vampires? No.. Why on earth would that be a good thing?" Minerva questioned, looking thunderstruck.

"I…um…can work on fighting Voldemort when he's asleep at night. We're the most awake then.," Harry explained. He'd caught himself and almost said 'can find Horcruxes'.

'Just tell them about the damn Horcruxes,' Severus snapped in Harry's head.

"And look for Voldemort's Horcruxes too. Really it's a good thing. I just need some space that's all. I got sick because you all were keeping me locked up in here when I needed to be outside feeding," Harry explained. The group gave a collective grimace at the mention of feeding.

"This isn't some joke, is it Harry?" Hermione asked nervously.

"No," he answered, bearing his fangs.

"Stop showing off," Severus hissed, his own fangs showing slightly.

"Then stop trying to compete with me," Harry shot back with a smile.

"Boys. Do I need to separate you?" Alena asked, speaking aloud for the first time since the incident began.

"I'm sure I like this but if it's true then there is nothing we can do," Minerva said, seeming to accept the situation rather quickly.

"We will be checking Albus' pensieve to see if you're telling the truth," she continued, addressing Severus.

"I would expect no less from you, Minerva," he murmured.

"We'll leave you to your business," she muttered, ushering the group out. As Ron left, he shot Harry an uneasy look. It was clear the redhead was not going to just accept that his best friend was now a blood-sucking vampire.

"Can we please go out and feed now?" Harry begged once the quartet was alone.

"Of course," Severus replied, appearing in rather high spirits.

"Weight off your chest eh?" Harry chortled as they disapparated.

'From yours as well I see," his sire replied.

"Yes. It is," Harry answered, enjoying being out with his own kind again. Tonight he would just enjoy their company. Tomorrow was a new day and he had a mission to complete.


	11. Chapter 11

_Ten: Horcrux Hunt_

Harry awoke to being violently shaken. He blinked several times to get his bearings. Hermione was leaning over him, looking worried. She backed up a step or two to allow him to sit up.

"What's wrong?" he asked with a yawn.

"It's after five. You slept all day," she told him.

"So?" he retorted.

"Is that…normal?" she inquired to which he nodded.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake up if you weren't supposed to be up yet," she mumbled.

"No, it's ok. I should get up. The sun's down for the most part so I should be ok," he told her, swinging his legs over the edge of his bed.

"What did I miss while I was asleep?" he asked, running a hand through his hair.

"Well Snape was telling the truth about Dumbledore. The Order checked his pensieve," she relayed.

"I know he was," Harry muttered.

"Not much else really…although Ron has been acting rather odd," she commented.

"What do you mean?"

"Just kind of snappy and grumpy." Harry just shrugged.

"Are Alena and Kalyn around?" the boy wizard asked.

"Who?"

"The two women who were here yesterday," he explained.

"Oh. I think so," Hermione answered as Harry moved towards the chest of drawers to get some clean clothes.

"I'll see you downstairs in a while," she called before exiting the room.

Harry took a long, soothing shower. Being so sick had made him feel disgusting but feeding last night had felt wonderful. He'd taken from several victims and had taken his fill from each. He'd also been glad to be in the company of his kin. He'd missed them these past few weeks. After dressing and leaving his glasses on his night table he proceeded downstairs where he was met by the Order, Alena, Kalyn and Severus. Ron looked up and immediately looked away.

"Good evening," he greeted with a smile.

"Looks like you slept well," Kalyn commented. Harry nodded.

"Do you want something to eat?" Molly offered, unsure if that was the right thing to ask.

"Not really," Harry admitted. He'd rather sink his fangs into someone's neck.

"Who offers a vampire food," Moody grumbled under his breath.

"Well I've seen him eat," Molly rebutted.

'Can we go for a quick bite?' Harry asked Severus.

'Yes. But we need to make it fast. The more time you waste, the harder it will be to find them and destroy them,' Severus replied, referring to Voldemort's Horcruxes.

"We're going to go out for a bit. We'll be back," Harry announced and turned to leave, Alena and Kalyn following.

"Where are you going?" Minerva asked, looking concerned.

"To find dinner," Harry answered. Minerva paled slightly.

"He'll be fine," Severus told her before following the trio out the front door.

"I'm not so sure I will be," she gasped, searching desperately for a glass of water.

"It's so strange to see them getting along," Hermione mused after the quartet had left.

"It is indeed. I still can't believe it," Remus remarked.

"He should have told us," Ron muttered darkly before getting up and going upstairs.

"He'll come around," Minerva assured Hermione, who was looking upset.

"I hope so," the young witch breathed.

Half an hour later, the four vampires returned, looking perky and content, their bodies replenished. Harry and Kalyn's hands were intertwined as they went upstairs, only to return moments later with the piece of parchment Harry had written down all of Voldemort's possible horcruxes on.

"So what's on the list, Harry?" Tonks asked, sitting down next to him on the couch. Despite her initial fear of seeing Snape in Harry's room, Tonks was accepting the situation better than most of the group.

"Well Slytherin's locket, which unless we threw it out two summers ago, is still somewhere in the house," he began.

"Hufflepuff's goblet, Nagini, Voldemort's snake, and something of Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. It seems he's got something from everyone else," he concluded.

"Shall we start looking for the locket?" Hermione asked from doorway.

"Yeah. Though I've got no idea what to do with it if and when we find it," Harry responded and the three of them set off in search of the locket.

'Alena are you doing anything?' he called out as he pulled open a chest of drawers in one of the spare rooms.

'Yes. I'll be with you in just a moment,' she answered, sounding out of breath. Harry blushed, trying not to think about it.

"Find anything?" Harry looked up, startled to see Kalyn leaning on the door frame.

"Not yet. Want to help look?" he asked and she nodded. She moved to the desk and began to pull open the drawer, rifling through the contents.

"Nothing here," she announced.

"Harry!" Hermione's voice echoed down the hall. Harry and Kalyn rushed to find the girl. She was in Sirius' room.

"Did you find it?" the vampire asked excitedly. Hermione held up the gold locket with a serpent carved on the front. She handed it to him; it was heavy and impossible to open. It was Slytherin's locket.

"Well we found it now what do we do?" Kalyn asked.

"I found them Severus," Alena called as she and Severus walked into the room. Harry showed them the locket, looking giddy.

"I have no idea what to do with it," he commented.

"Well there has to be some sort of spell to destroy it," Hermione retorted.

"Well Dumbledore knew it. But we can't really ask him," Harry muttered.

"Why don't we take this downstairs and get some collective input," Alena suggested. They found Minerva, Molly and Remus in the kitchen.

"You found it!" Remus exclaimed, receiving some sidelong glances from his companions.

"We just don't know how to destroy it."

"I found this in Albus' desk for you, Harry," McGonagall said, handing him a folded piece of parchment.

He opened it up. On the parchment was written a short message; you will know what to do with this when the time comes _perdo malum res_. Harry's brow furrowed as he looked at it. His grasp of Latin wasn't that great but from experience he gathered that Dumbledore had left him the spell to get rid of the Horcruxes.

"Thank you Dumbledore," he whispered with a smile.

"What is it? What does it say?" Tonks asked.

"It's the spell to destroy the horcruxes," he said with pride.

"Well what are you waiting for? Use it," Severus barked.

"_Perdo malum res_," Harry spoke, waving his wand at the locket.

Everyone stepped back as the locket was consumed in black flames. There was a loud hissing sound and a faint scream and then the locket began to melt. Just as quickly as it had been consumed, the fire disappeared.

"No wonder it hurt his hand," Hermione gasped.

"So it's gone?" Tonks murmured in awe.

"I think so," Harry answered, gingerly picking up the melted trinket by the chain.

"What's going on?" Ron asked as he walked into the kitchen, his body tensing when he saw Harry.

"We just destroyed Slytherin's locket," Harry informed the redhead.

"Oh," he muttered.

"Sorry I interrupted you," he added and turned to leave.

"Ron, wait. It'd be really great if you could help us," Harry called.

"Why would you need my help? You've got them," Ron spat, indicating Kalyn and Alena.

"Oh come off it. You're my best mate. I really need your help Ron," Harry begged.

"Whatever," the redhead mumbled crossly.

"Where do you suppose he'd keep Hufflepuff's goblet?" Harry asked the group assembled.

"May I suggest you look into that annoying snake of his?" Severus proposed hastily.

"To be honest, I'd rather not get too close to Voldemort at the moment," Harry answered.

"As you wish, but you'll have to do it sooner or later," Severus mumbled.

"So back to this goblet…where would he keep it?" Hermione interceded.

Severus shoved his hands in his pockets, trying to calm himself down. He really didn't want to focus on the goblet, especially since he knew exactly where it was and that its location would arouse suspicion among the group.

'What's wrong?' Alena asked from across the room.

'Just…it's nothing,' he answered but she subtly snuck over to him and dragged him from the room. They ended upstairs in one of the libraries.

"Tell me what's going on," she ordered.

"I'd rather do this," he purred, cupping her cheek and kissing her lips. She gasped and made to step back but his other hand snaked around her waist.

"Is this really necessary?" she managed to gasp out as he removed his lips from hers.

"Entirely," he breathed as he trailed kisses over her jaw.

"Severus…" she trailed off as her eyes bulged.

"Ahem. Sorry to intrude," called Harry's voice, laced with amusement and slight embarrassment. Severus whirled around, looking thoroughly like a teenager caught sneaking around after hours.

"What is it?" Severus snapped, trying to get rid of the redness in his cheeks.

"You just disappeared and I wanted to ask you where you think Voldemort is hiding the goblet," Harry answered, moving into the room and sitting down.

"Why is my opinion so important all of a sudden?" he queried.

"Because you're my sire and I respect your opinion," Harry shot back.

"Well I don't know where he'd keep it," Severus answered hurriedly, his gaze shifting away from Harry's.

"What's the matter with you?" Alena hissed.

"I told you…nothing," Snape countered.

"You're lying. Do I have to drag it out of you? Because I will," she threatened.

"Fine."

"I have a very good idea of where the goblet is being kept," Severus began.

"Ok, great. Where is it?" Harry inquired eagerly.

"Sitting on the mantle in my house," Severus spoke into his shirt sleeve.

"Why is it on your mantle?" Harry blurted.

"I'd really rather not say," Severus muttered. He hated being embarrassed and yet Harry was doing a wonderful job of making sure he was uncomfortable.

"Oh come on!"

"He gave it me."

"What?"

"The Dark Lord gave it to me," Severus repeated.

"Why'd he do that? Is he mental?" Alena questioned with a laugh.

"Well, it was very strange. I think he was drunk and it was my birthday and he gave it to me," Severus explained, smirking at the foolishness of the incident.

"That's bloody brilliant!" Harry exclaimed, jumping up from his seat and racing towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Severus called.

"To your house to get the goblet," Harry replied.

"You don't know I live!"

"Yes I do. It was in the bag of potions Alena gave me at the end term," Harry retorted.

"Harry…that's my address. Severus was just staying with me because he knew the authorities would be searching his place," Alena answered. Harry blushed.

"Oh. Well then, you better come with us," Harry said, addressing Severus. Severus rolled his eyes and followed his sire and his offspring downstairs.

"We know where it is," Harry announced.

"Great! Let's go!" Hermione exclaimed.

"I think we have it covered," Harry admitted.

"Well where are you going?" Minerva piped.

"My house," Severus answered, giving them all a 'please don't ask' look.

Without another word, the three vampires disappeared. They reappeared in the front hall of Snape's house on Spinner's End. Harry looked around, taking in the drabness and abundance of grey and black.

"You really need a new decorator," he muttered to his sire.

"I like black thank you. Now come on," he shot and led the other two into the sitting room. There on the mantle was a slightly dusty but easily recognizable ancient goblet. Harry rushed forward, reaching towards it when Severus stopped him

"You might want to pick it up with this," he said, producing a cloth. Harry raised his brow.

Harry took the cloth and picked the goblet up by the neck. It was heavy, just like the locket. He set it on the table which was also covered in a thin layer of dust.

"You need to get a new cleaning person," he muttered with a smirk.

"Just destroy it already," Severus shot back.

"_Perdo malum res_," Harry incanted, watching the goblet suffer the same fate the locket had earlier that day. Harry smiled, feeling like he was really making progress in his destiny.

"This feels good," he remarked as they left the dusty interior.

"You haven' won yet," Severus reminded him.

"Way to burst my bubble," the boy snapped.

"Someone had to," Severus replied with a grin.

"Why is it that the objects he puts his soul in are so damn heavy?" Harry asked as they rematerialized outside of 12 Grimmauld Place.

"I'm no expert but I'd assume it was because his soul is weighed down by so much evil and hatred," Severus surmised.

"That makes sense."

"How'd it go?" Hermione greeted them in the front hall.

"Fine. Snape needs to clean his house but other than that it happened just like it did with the locket," Harry answered. Severus let out a soft groan.

'Stop picking on the poor man,' Harry heard in his head, fighting not to burst out laughing.

The foyer fell into an awkward silence and slowly the occupants dispersed themselves. Harry went to bed that night feeling very hopeful and confident. This was proving to be insanely easy. It was as if Dumbledore knew where everything was. He should have known that it couldn't be that easy. For Harry, life was never easy. Why should now be any different. Despite his confidence, it took Harry almost two weeks to muster up enough courage to try and figure out a plan to get close to Nagini. He and Severus were in the foyer of Alena's flat.

"I still don't know how I'm going to get near her without her slithering off to Voldemort," Harry grumbled as Severus handed him a black robe.

"And what if I'm wrong? What if she's not a horcrux?" he continued, donning the cloak.

"This is a dangerous game we're playing. You're bound to make mistakes," Severus answered, handing over a Death Eater mask. Harry shrunk back.

"Do I have to wear that thing? I mean, yes I want to blend in but honestly. I don't know where that's been..." Harry trailed off. With a shrug Severus tossed it aside.

"Be careful. The both of you," Alena chided, walking in from the kitchen, followed by Kalyn.

"We'll do our best," Harry replied with a smirk. Kalyn grabbed his wrist.

'I hope you know what you're doing,' she whispered silently.

'I hope so too,' he answered. With a swift parting kiss the two male vampires disapparated. They reappeared in a graveyard.

"What is it with him and graveyards?" Harry retorted under his breath.

"Keep your hood up and follow me," Severus ordered as he wound his way between the head stones.

After much maneuvering, they found themselves in a secluded clump of trees. Hooded figures milled about, waiting. Harry's keen eyes darted about, looking for Nagini. He figured she might listen to him if he was able to get her in a trance, like his victims. He wasn't entirely sure it would work but it was worth a shot. Finally! She slithered out from behind a low bush. Harry moved deftly towards her just in time for Voldemort to materialize.

"Loyal friends, the task is done!" the Dark Lord boomed, receiving raucous applause. Harry was now in range of the snake.

"Hey Nagini, over here," Harry whispered in parsel tongue. The snake lifted its head towards Harry, flicking her tongue out at him.

"I know who you are. My master will be very pleased," she hissed back.

"We don't have to tell him. Come on, just you and me. Let's talk this out," Harry coaxed, finally getting her to slither his way.

"So it is true my Lord. Dumbledore is dead?" Avery called.

"Yes! Now there is nothing to stand in my way!" Voldemort cackled, joined by his followers. Severus' gaze darted towards the woods where he'd seen Harry disappear to.

Harry jumped slightly when he saw the snakes eyes glaze over. He'd done it. He'd actually put a snake into a trance. Taking a deep breath he cast the silencing spell he'd learned from the Half-Blood Prince. He closed his eyes, hoping, praying almost, that he was right. When he opened his eyes he felt something in his chest, tugging to get out. He tried to push it aside by raising his wand Nagini.

"It won't hurt much," he whispered before casting the spell. Voldemort's soul came screeching out of the snake's lithe frame. To the young vampire's horror, the snake's began to wither until there was nothing left but a rotten snake skin.

'It's done. Let's get out of here,' he called out to Severus.

'We can't just leave,' Severus spat back.

'How much longer do we have to stay?' the boy whined.

'Until he's done flaunting his victory…which could prove to be hours,' Severus drawled.

'Great.' Severus was right. Voldemort went on and on about how Dumbledore's death was the stepping stone to victory…for two hours straight. Harry was having trouble keeping his eyes open and the rotting snake skin wasn't helping much.

'We're leaving,' Harry heard in his head. He gratefully snuck towards Snape and they disapparated back to the flat.

"What the hell took so long?" Alena shouted the minute they walked in the door.

"Someone decided we had to sit through Voldemort's two fucking hour victory speech. God he's long winded," Harry griped, pointing to Severus.

"You had us worried," Kalyn spoke up, sounding calmer.

"Sorry," Severus and Harry apologized in unison.

Shortly, the girls wandered out for a girls' night out and a bite to eat. Severus and Harry lounged in the sitting room. Neither spoke for what felt like ages.

"Right before I said the spell I felt this weird pulling feeling in my chest. Like something was trying to get out," Harry blurted out.

"What kind of pulling?" Severus pressed.

"Kind of like my heart was trying to jump out of my chest," he answered after a moment of thought.

"What did you do right before this happened?"

"Um…I cast a silencing spell…yours," Harry began.

"Then I closed my eyes to focus and then I opened them again and I felt it. Like the snake was calling to me," Harry concluded and suddenly his eyes lit up.

"What? What's wrong?" Severus queried, seeing the light in his offspring's eyes.

"I…I'm it…the last one," Harry babbled.

"What in Merlin's name are you talking about?" Severus spat.

"I'm the last horcrux."


	12. Chapter 12

_Eleven: Extraordinary Exorcise_

Severus stared blankly at his offspring. Had he heard the boy correctly? Severus could swear Harry just said he was the Dark Lord's final horcrux. But that was absurd…or was it?

"Excuse me? Did you just say you're the last horcrux?" Severus repeated dumbfounded.

"Yes."

"How in the bloody hell did you come up with that?" Severus shot.

"Well I was thinking. You see, I kind of felt a pull to the locket and the goblet too. I think it was Voldemort's soul trying to reach out to itself," Harry explained, realizing it sounded a bit far fetched.

"So you don't think I'm crazy?" Harry asked.

"No. It seems to make sense."

Severus took a minute to think. "We'll need to inform Kalyn and Alena when they return," he managed. Harry nodded in agreement. They'd also have to tell the Order

"We need to tell the Order too," Harry voiced.

"That will go over well," Severus drawled.

"Well we have to tell them. It will probably give Ron another reason to hate me," Harry muttered.

"Have you tried talking to him about the situation?" Severus questioned.

"Not yet…no," the young vampire admitted.

"May I suggest you do so and soon?" Just then the door opened and Alena and Kalyn walked in.

"It's quiet in here," Alena asked with a laugh.

"I have to tell you something," Harry said aloud, drawing the girls into the sitting room.

"What is it?" Kalyn and Alena asked simultaneously.

"I'm Voldemort's final horcrux."

"You're joking?"

"No. I wish I was. I have no idea what I'm going to do now," Harry answered, looking the slightest bit unnerved.

"Who else have you told?" Kalyn queried, laying a reassuring hand on his.

"Just you two and Severus. I don't think I can tell the Order yet. I haven't come to terms with it yet myself. You know what I mean?" Harry babbled. The other three nodded that they understood.

"Well why don't you go get something to eat and then sleep on it," Alena proposed.

Harry tossed in bed hours later. He looked at the clock; 4:56. He was never up this late but his mind wouldn't stop churning. It was all starting to make sense now. His connection to Voldemort. Maybe Harry survived Voldemort trying to kill him because he already a part of Voldemort inside of him. Could it be that he shared some of Voldemort's abilities because he had the Dark Lord inside of him.

"I just want to sleep!" Harry cried to the blank ceiling. With that he turned over and clenched his eyes shut, willing his body to sleep. It finally worked.

Morning dawned early at 12 Grimmauld Place the next day. Hermione was up at the sun's first rays. She snuck down to the kitchen and made herself a cup of tea and some toast. She wasn't sure why she got up so early but it was nice to be in the solitude of the early morning hours. Her mind floated to Harry. The shock had worn off for the most part. She didn't see why it was so bad. She'd been doing some reading on vampires, as was her nature, and learned quite a lot about them. She knew that Harry would always appear as a 16-year-old. She had gotten squeamish about the details of feeding and had skipped over that part. She could see Harry's point of thinking it a good thing in fighting Voldemort. Vampires were stronger than humans, Muggle or wizard and she had a feeling Harry would use that to his advantage. Presently she was worrying about whether he'd gotten close enough to get rid of the part of Voldemort's soul being housed in Nagini.

"Hermione dear. What are you doing up so early?" Molly asked, appearing in the doorway.

"Just thinking," Hermione answered, lifting her mug to lips.

"Care to join me?" the girl offered. Molly sat down next to her, summoning a cup of tea for herself.

"What were you thinking about?" Molly asked, blowing the steam off the top of her tea.

"Harry's…situation," Hermione chose her words carefully.

"You mean him being a vampire," Molly stated bluntly and Hermione nodded.

"I don't know. It seemed so frightening at first. I was honestly quite scared with all of them around. But now…it seems they're all very comfortable with each other," Molly remarked.

"Ron still is being completely bull-headed," Hermione spat.

"I really don't know what's going on with him. It breaks my heart to see the two of them not talking. It just doesn't seem right," Molly sighed.

"I've tried to talk to him but he just won't listen. I guess we just have to give him time," Hermione breathed as she set her mug in the sink.

The day passed by as usual. The Order milled about, Aurors coming and going. Ron was keeping himself locked in his room most of the time, being his usual, bull-headed and stubborn self. The group was sitting down to a late dinner when two distinct 'pop's resounded in the hallway.

"We've got company," Moody grunted.

"Oh, good evening," Minerva greeted as Harry and company entered the kitchen.

"We'd offer you a seat but well…it'd be rather silly wouldn't it," Tonks remarked.

"We have some bad news," Severus announced. All eyes were upon the four vampires.

"I'm the last horcrux," Harry said. Remus dropped his knife. The piece of cutlery clattered to a halt on the ground. Mouths hung gaping open.

"Harry…are you sure?" Hermione asked, trying to bring color back to her face.

"I'm sure. I just…don't know what to do," he admitted.

"Well you'll figure something out," Ron piped, the first thing he'd said to anyone all day.

"Thanks," Harry said sincerely.

"You're Harry bloody Potter. It's what you do," the redhead shot rudely before getting up and leaving.

'That boy has issues,' Alena muttered to Severus.

'I've always felt that way.'

"Well…can't you just do what you've been doing?" Tonks asked.

"No," Harry replied flatly.

"Why not?"

"Because I'd rather not burn to nothing," he shot back.

"I performed the spell on Nagini and she died. All that was left was a disgusting snake skin," he explained, his tone less harsh.

'That I had to smell for two hours,' he hissed at Severus.

"I see your point. There has to be another alternative," McGonagall proposed.

"What about…an exorcism?" Hermione suggested.

"Oh yes that's a brilliant idea Miss Granger. Just rip it out of him," Severus snapped.

"It could actually work," Alena interjected.

"I agree. It's risky but it's the only alternative we've got on the table right now. So unless anyone has something else to suggest…how do you feel about an exorcism, Harry?" Kalyn added.

"Um…soul being ripped from my body while some stranger chants made up prayers over me….sounds kind of fishy," Harry chortled. He received several glares.

"Ok. Well I guess Kalyn's right. It's the only idea we've got."

"But…where are we going to find a wizarding priest who is willing to exorcise a piece of the soul of the most evil wizard of our time from a vampire?" he posed.

"No one said he had to be willing," Severus drawled.

"Yes but it's preferable," Snape's offspring shot back.

"Let's get to work then," Molly called, shooing everyone from the table so she could clear it.

Half an hour later the group was crowded around a directory of all professional personnel in the magical community. Harry's eyes were scanning each line quickly. He had to keep form laughing at some of the absurd "professions" people had. To his great surprise there were about ten priests who specialized in the "casting out of demons".

"Well pick one," Severus urged.

"How am I supposed to know? Are we just going to go through them all?" Harry hissed back.

"This one sounds credible," Hermione remarked, pointing to the last name on the list; Hector Milagros.

"Ok fine. We'll get him," Harry muttered and wrote down the address.

"How are you going to get him here without asking questions?" Remus asked as Harry moved towards the door.

"Easy, treat him like a victim," the boy responded and then was gone.

"I shouldn't have asked," the werewolf murmured to himself.

Harry returned less than fifteen minutes later with a gentleman in his late sixties. His hair was silver and his skin brown. His eyes looked glassy, no doubt creeping most of the residents out.

"Where do we want to do this?" Kalyn asked.

"How about upstairs. A bed's got to be more comfortable if you're going to be exorcised," Hermione suggested. Harry led the way, keeping a close eye on the priest so he didn't trip. They ended up in one of the spare rooms. With a wink, the priest was free of Harry's control.

"What? Where am I?" he rasped.

"Don't worry. We just need your assistance, Father," Severus said coolly.

"What type of assistance?" Father Milagros pressed.

"This young man is possessed by a demonic spirit and we want you to get rid of it," Severus explained.

"And you damn well better get the right spirit or you will regret it," Severus snarled menacingly.

With shaking hands, Hector moved towards Harry, who was lying expectantly on the bed. He was sweating slightly, hoping the old man knew what he was doing.

"What if he doesn't get the right soul?" Minerva whispered.

"Leave that to me," Severus whispered back

"Who's he? What's he doing?" Ron asked.

"He's a priest. He's exorcising Harry," Tonks answered in a hushed voice.

"He's what?" the redhead shot, looking horrified.

"Please. I need quiet," Father Milagros called as he laid his hands on Harry's chest.

"How do we know it's Voldemort's?" this time it was Kingsley.

"I suppose it will come screeching out," Hermione answered with a shrug.

"I'd imagine anybody's soul being ripped from their body would come out screeching." Alena stated.

"Oh thanks guys! That's so bloody reassuring. Look, one of you has got to say the spell as soon as it is out," Harry shot angrily.

"I'll do it," Severus volunteered.

"Lay back and try to focus on pushing the demon out," the priest was instructing Harry. Harry tried to focus on expelling Voldemort's fragment of soul. The priest chanted in a whisper and suddenly Harry's body seized violently. His mouth was wide open and his eyes bulged. Kalyn grabbed Severus' hand, gripping it tightly in fear. The entire bed was now shaking along with Harry's body. Hermione had to cover her eyes. It was too much. After what felt like an eternity, there was a loud wailing and screeching sound as a black shadow flew from Harry's chest.

"Do it Severus!" Alena and Kalyn shouted.

"_Perdo malum res_," Severus cast and the black shadow writhed in pain before disappearing. Harry stopped moving, and the priest had to support himself on the edge of the bed. The exorcism had taken a lot out of him as well.

"Get him a chair and some water," Molly ordered and Tonks rushed out get them.

Severus approached Harry once the priest was out of the way. He bent down and placed a hand lightly on the boy's forearm. Harry sat bolt upright, his gaze focused on Snape.

"Is…it over?" he asked hoarsely.

"I believe it is. How do you feel?"

"Lighter. I'm pretty sure he got the right one," Harry answered.

"It did appear that way. I suggest you rest for a while. It will no doubt have some residual effects," Severus ordered.

Harry lay back on the pillows, feeling drained all of a sudden. He knew for sure he never wanted to do that again. It hurt like hell. He drifted into a light slumber, only to be awaked some time later by floorboards squeaking near him. He opened his eyes to see Ron standing here.

"Hi," Harry greeted, sitting up. Ron just looked at him suspiciously.

"What are you staring at me for?" Harry asked, growing annoyed.

"How are we supposed to know it was Voldemort's soul that wacko cast out of you?" Ron blurted.

"What? It was his soul, Ron. Snape got rid of it. Voldemort's mortal now," Harry answered, looking bewildered.

"You say that but where's the proof. Can you prove to me you aren't walking around just another Voldemort?"

"Ron you're being complete stupid," Harry retorted.

"First you lie to us for months and then just spring it on us that you're some bloody-thirsty freak. You just expected us to accept it," Ron began, pacing in front of Harry.

"Ron I couldn't tell anyone…and I didn't expect you to believe me. It took me a good two months to really get my head around it," Harry defended himself.

"Yeah sure," Ron hissed.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you? You're acting like Malfoy!" Harry snapped.

"You don't belong here anymore Harry. So why don't you just leave us all alone," the second youngest Weasley snarled before storming out of the room.

Harry stared after his former friend. How could something out of his control change someone's opinion so radically? Harry had to wipe a river of tears from his cheek as he lay back down.


	13. Chapter 13

_Twelve: Fanged Mutiny_

It had been three weeks since Harry and Ron's confrontation. Harry had seen neither hide nor hair of his former friend and at the moment, Harry was ok with that. He had more important things to worry about; devising a plan to take down Voldemort for good. He felt considerably lighter without Voldemort's soul taking up space. Right now, he sat on the floor in the library, leaning up against the arm of the couch.

"What are you doing on the floor?" Kalyn queried, joining him.

"Just wondering if Voldemort can feel when part of his soul is destroyed,' he answered.

"Interesting topic to be thinking about. What do you think the answer is?" she asked.

"Honestly. I don't think so. He's so inhuman I doubt he can really feel much of anything," Harry mused.

The two lapsed into silence, just sitting staring at nothing. Harry closed his eyes and inched to his right a half a centimeter. His hand brushed against Kalyn's but she either didn't seem to notice or didn't mind. It felt nice to just be in each other's company without having to say anything. The incident those weeks ago was behind them, like a faded memory. After a few prolonged minutes, Harry pushed himself to a standing position, offering his hand to Kalyn. She took it but on her way, shifted her balance so that they went tumbling onto the couch. Kalyn now lay atop her companion. Harry blushed crimson, making Kalyn giggle.

"What's so funny?" he managed to get out.

"I didn't expect you to embarrass so easily," she whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I've never really had a girl just lying on top of me before," he answered chuckling. Without thinking he leaned up and kissed her.

Harry expected her to pull away. After all, she had told him she didn't want to get serious right now. But to his surprise she did not pull away. Her hand slid down to squeeze his own. This felt amazing. He'd never felt this way with Ginny, or Cho. After an eternity, Harry broke the kiss, smiling up at her.

"I thought you said…" Harry trailed off, trying to catch his breath.

"Well…I did. But we're in a war and you never know what is going to happen next," she murmured back, pressing her lips back against his, slipping her tongue between his lips.

Harry managed to sit up, getting into a more comfortable position. His hands intertwined themselves in strands of her soft hair. They stayed there for a good half hour learning the terrain of each other's bodies. From the doorway a gasp issued as Harry's lips were winding their way along Kalyn's collarbone. The pair looked up to see Ginny standing in the doorway, her cheeks a shade away from the color of her hair and her eyes were watery. Harry began to untangle himself from Kalyn but Ginny bolted out of the room before he could stand up.

"You'd better go talk to her," Kalyn murmured, refastening the upper buttons of her shirt. She could tell that Harry didn't want to comply with her suggestion.

'You need to. It's only fair to her,' he heard in his head.

Harry straightened his shirt and ran a hand through his hair before walking out of the library in search for Ginny. He found her sitting on her bed, back to the door. Her body was shaking and he knew she was crying.

"Ginny?" he called softly.

"Sod off," she shot back in a shaky voice.

"I can explain," he insisted, moving into the room and closer to her.

"You broke up with me to keep me safe…that's bullocks and you know it!" she spat, turning to face him, her eyes red.

"Really Gin. I did. That thing…it just…happened," he trailed off.

"It's not like we planned it," he added.

"I get it. You fancy her," Ginny hissed.

"It's not that…well I mean yes she's pretty…" he mumbled.

"That didn't come out right. What I meant to say is…she understands what I'm going through," Harry tried again.

"And we don't? Harry we've known you longer. We know what you have to do against Voldemort," she countered.

"Not about Voldemort…not entirely. And I mean she understands what I'm going through…with being a vampire. She doesn't treat me like I've got some contagious disease," he answered. She flinched at the mention of the word.

"See! That's what I'm talking about. You think I'm a freak," he shot at her heatedly.

"You just sprung it on us and you expect us to accept it with open arm," she muttered.

"God you sound exactly like Ron!"

"I'm not saying it's your fault. You know what…forget it. Who am I to stop you from snogging other people? I'm just the ex-girlfriend," Ginny snarled before stalking past him.

Harry held his breath and let it out slowly to calm himself down. He turned and left the room, wandering towards the room where Severus and Alena were staying. Having enough sense, he knocked first. Severus opened it seconds later.

"Why do you look as if you've been in the stomach with a lead cauldron?" his sire questioned.

"Long story," the boy muttered, walking past the older man.

"Well I have time."

"It just sort of happened. I was sitting in the library and then somehow Kalyn and I just…" he trailed off. Severus nodded, seeming to understand by the blush that had crept onto the tips of Harry's ears.

"And well Ginny sort of walked in…and we had a fight," he finished.

Severus remained silent for some time before smiling. It still made Harry squirm to see Snape smile.

"What are you smiling about?" Harry snapped.

"The trials of being a teenage boy," Severus muttered, shrugging.

"You don't have any wisdom or something to impart?" Harry asked.

"I am not your father. It is not my place to interfere," his sire remarked.

"Well you're the closest thing I've got to a father so take up the role and help me!" Harry whined.

"Not if you're going to act like a spoiled child." Harry flipped him off.

"You weren't doing anything immoral by involving yourself with Kalyn. She is a very attractive girl. You and Miss Weasley were no longer involved. However she did have a reason to react the way you've described," Severus remarked.

"So you're saying just let it blow over?"

"Yes."

"Great. Well I'm going to go for a walk…clear my head…grab a bite," Harry told his sire before disapparating on the spot.

"What was that about?" Alena asked, walking in.

"Teenage drama. I'm so glad I'm past it," Severus answered, encircling her with his arms.

"Did you tell him about the meeting?'

"No. It slipped my mind," he murmured against her cheek.

"Tell him when he gets back," she instructed before allow him to seduce her.

Harry took an extra long getting back. He wandered the streets for a while just thinking. The fresh air was doing him good. Finally he decided if he didn't get back they'd send a search party out for him.

"You were gone a long time," Severus greeted him at the door.

"Just had to clear my head," Harry answered.

"Well don't get too comfortable. We're leaving in about ten minutes," Severus announced.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

Ten minutes later, Harry found himself following Kalyn, Severus and Alena down a hallway in a building he'd never been in before. They reached a wooden door. There was a hole at eye level with a sliding panel. It opened when Alena reached it. The door was opened immediately and the foursome was ushered in. They walked into a room filled with men and women of varying ages and races. Harry could they were all vampires. Several of them eyed him suspiciously.

'Where are we?' he asked Severus.

'Be patient.'

Everyone quieted down when Alena cleared her throat. Harry had no idea she held so much authority in the vampire community. Harry leaned against a wall. Kalyn took his hand reassuringly.

"Brothers and sisters. Offspring and sires," Alena greeted.

"What's this about Alena?" a man who appeared in his mid thirties called out.

"William if you give me a minute I'll explain everything," she answered, giving him a stern look.

Harry closed his eyes. His head had started to ache. There were so many thoughts flying around the room. It was way more than he was used to. Alena's voice drew him back.

"As many of you are aware there is a war going on…between the magical and non-magical communities," she began. Several people in the group groaned.

"We haven't been targeted. What does it matter?" one woman shouted.

"They've left us alone. We don't need to get involved," another added.

"Well it affects us now. It has affected us since the moment one very important wizard joined our kind," she spoke, quieting the muttering. All eyes were now on Harry. Severus shoved him forward.

'What am I supposed to say?' he asked Alena.

'Ask them for their help.'

'They made it pretty damn clear they don't want anything to do with it.' Harry cleared his throat.

"Um…I don't really know any of you. I don't know if you know me. I wouldn't be surprised if you did. Well...I need your help in defeating Voldemort," he began, winging it.

"You're the bloody Boy-Who-Lived. What kind of help could you possibly need?" a boy who appeared to be only a few years older than Harry shouted.

"Well if it weren't for Alena and Kalyn…I'd probably be a vegetable. They saved my life because was stupid and was trying to do too much. I can't do this without help. And to be completely honest, you would be making a difference," he answered.

"Think about it. You help defeat Voldemort and you show the Ministry that we aren't freaks. We're just like everyone else. We aren't dangerous," Harry continued, getting into it now.

"When you put it that way…showing up the Ministry," the boy from before called.

"I'm in." a chorus of voices rang out. Harry smiled.

"I'm not entirely sure what is going to happen. But those of you who are interested, we will be in contact. We'll come up with a plan and take the real monster down," he ended, pumping his fist in the air. He walked back to Severus and Kalyn to cheers and applause.

"You sure you weren't a motivational speaker in a past life?" Kalyn whispered. Harry raised his brow as they left.

"Who should I contact?" Harry asked as they left the building.

"Well I believe Jacob, the boy who made the comment to you about being the Boy-Who-Lived will be willing to spear-head communications," Alena answered.

"Great. Now all I have to do is come up with a plan. Easier said than done," he muttered.


	14. Chapter 14

_Thirteen: Bloody Sunset_

Harry was pacing around the sitting room of Grimmauld Place. The Order was currently in the kitchen waiting for him. How was he supposed to tell them that he didn't need their help in defeating Voldemort? Of course he didn't have a plan yet per se as to how he was going to use his new-found brethren to help him.

"Here goes nothing," he muttered as he took a deep breath. He was met with a multiple of eyes.

"I've done a bit of thinking and I've realized that well…I don't think I'll need the Order's help to take down Voldemort," he announced.

"What do you mean you don't need our help? You can't take him down on your own," Minerva remarked.

"What about all the Death Eaters?" Tonks added.

"I kind of have people to help me," he muttered.

"People? You mean vampires," Hermione whispered. Harry nodded.

"What? So we're bloody damage control. You mean to say we'll be cleaning up whatever mess you lot make?" Moody snarled.

Harry didn't know what to say. It seemed that whatever he did say came out all wrong, or they twisted his words against him. He was just not sure whatever plan he came up with would work if they were involved in executing it.

"I'm sorry…I just…things are different," he mumbled and walked out. That had gone horribly. He found Severus browsing the library.

"Well I'm a complete moron. I told them I don't need their help and they blew up at me," he spat as he sat down.

"Well the situation has changed…you've changed," Severus remarked still staring at the row of books in front of him.

"What are you looking for?" Harry inquired.

"Just looking," Severus murmured.

'Have you talked to Jacob?'

'No. I will.'

'I suggest you do so quickly. The longer you wait the harder it becomes.'

'Yes, Dad.' Harry sent back mockingly as he pushed himself up.

He wandered back to his room. He was restless. He wanted to get this over with but he had no idea where to meet them all.

'Jacob,' he called out.

'Who is this?' came a semi-familiar voice.

'It's Harry.'

'Oh! How've you been?' Jacob asked.

'Fine I guess. Look, we um…need to meet and figure out what we're going to do,' Harry informed the other vampire.

'Right. I'll let the lads know. How about we meet here in say, half hour?'

'Sure.'

Harry plopped down on his bed, not wanting to get up and find Severus again. He was also too lazy to call out to his sire. He figured they'd come to him. Unfortunately, he shouldn't have assumed that because they didn't come to him after twenty minutes. Grumbling, the vampire got up and went in search of his kin. He found all three in the front foyer.

"Uh…I'm meeting them in ten minutes," he told him. He received looks that said they already knew.

"But apparently you knew that."

"Come on. You don't want to show up late…being the ring leader and all," Alena ordered. The foursome disapparated to the meeting room. A large group was already there. Once the last few stragglers arrived, Harry rose to address them.

"Thanks for coming everyone," he began.

"I've done some thinking and I think the best thing we can do is meet him on sort of neutral ground; Hogwarts," he continued, beginning to pace.

"I mean, I'd expect he'd want to do it there…thinking if he wins, he can just take over the castle," he explained.

"Anyways, I figure they don't know what we are so we can just take them by surprise. Now, I can't guarantee we'll all survive…it is a war after all. But try and take down as many as you can without getting hit. And try and keep them alive…wound them but don't kill them. That would give the Ministry cause to label us as killers," Harry said in one large breath.

"You really think we can win this without magical help?" William called. Harry hadn't seen him slip in.

"Well I don't know. I suppose, if the Order of the Phoenix isn't too pissed off at me, they'll help but I think we can take them. We'll have to work it as best we can to do it after the sun goes down," Harry answered.

"May I interject?" Severus called.

"Be my guest," Harry answered dryly.

"I can see what I can do in persuading him to plan an attack at night," he told the group.

"Brilliant. Thanks. How does say Friday sound?" Harry proposed as if he was planning a party.

"We are not planning a party," Severus spat.

"Just trying to lighten the situation," Harry grumbled.

With that the group dispersed with plans, if all went well, to meet at Hogwarts at dusk on Friday. The next day Severus returned with the go ahead that he'd convinced the Dark Lord to plan an attack at Hogwarts on Friday night. Presently Harry was wandering the upstairs hallway when he happened upon Hermione coming out of the bathroom.

"Oh, Harry you scared me," she said, her hand resting on her chest.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to," the young vampire answered apologetically.

"How are you doing?" she asked, laying a hand on his arm.

"Alright I guess. We face Voldemort in two days," he answered.

"I know I told the Order I didn't need their help but I think I might need some magical backup," he admitted.

"They're all pretty mad at you to be quite honest. But I'll be there if you want me to," she said softly, giving him a small smile.

"Thanks, Hermione. Seems like you're the only one around here who still talks to me," he muttered, pulling her into a hug.

"You had no control over it Harry. You've coped wonderfully. They shouldn't be treating you like an outcast," she murmured.

They embraced a while longer before Harry let her go. He was glad she was still rooting for him, even if no one else was. He knew he could count on her to help him and he was pretty sure despite her hurt heart, Ginny would help. Ron was a lost cause. Harry had accepted that a while ago. The next two days passed by agonizingly slow for Harry. He was anxious to get this over with so he could move on.

"Harry?" Kalyn called, interrupting the boy's thoughts.

"Huh?"

"Come on, it's almost dusk. It's time," she whispered, pulling him from his bed.

Harry's brain registered what she'd said and ran past her into the bathroom to clean himself up. Five minutes later, he, Kalyn, Alena, Ginny and Hermione were ready to leave. Severus felt it best to arrive with the opposing side to keep up appearances. They disappeared, reappearing in the Headmaster's office. The small room was cramped with the mass of vampires. Some of them eyed the two witches with a lustful look.

'Back off, all of you. They're my friends…they're not dinner,' Harry snapped at them all silently.

"So is everyone ready? Remember, no killing," Harry asked. The mass of people nodded and Harry led them down towards the Entrance Hall. They got halfway there before they were met by Voldemort and his montage of followers. Severus caught Harry's eye.

'Let's get this over with. Take him down as fast as you can. Don't let his bloody bantering and mockery distract you.' Harry heard in his head.

Voldemort smiled a creepy smile at Harry. "It's been a while Harry," the snake-like figure hissed.

"So it has. Have you missed me?" Harry answered snidely.

"Well let's do this properly shall we?" Voldemort remarked, drawing his wand. Harry made no move to draw his.

"Oh come now Harry."

'On the count of three, give them hell!' Harry shouted enthusiastically to his group.

"I've moved on to less conventional methods," Harry answered with a shrug.

'One…Two…Three!'

The mass of vampires rushed forward, fangs exposed. The Death Eaters rushed forward as well to meet them. In the fray, Severus managed to turn around to face Rodolphus LeStrange. He pulled his fist back and let it fly into the man's nose.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" he wailed, clutching his bleeding nose.

"Winning a war," Severus snarled, showing his fangs before he lunged at the man.

Time seemed to be moving in slow motion. Harry watched as Death Eaters fell to the ground in heaps, bloody wounds glaring open on their necks. Harry had to repress the urge to feed. He spotted Draco Malfoy inching away from the fight. He looked scared. Harry effortlessly glided to the blond.

"Scared, Malfoy?" Harry taunted.

"What the bloody hell!" Draco gasped as he saw the fangs protruding over his enemy's lower lip.

Harry grabbed the Slytherin by the shirt front and slammed him against a wall, a bit harder than he'd intended or known he was capable of because he'd knocked the boy unconscious.

The fighting continued for what seemed like hours. Harry looked around. Most of his group was still standing and relatively unscathed. He spotted Hermione dueling with Bellatrix.

"Come on Hermione," he cheered under his breath as he moved away from Draco.

His whispered words of encouragement seemed to work as Hermione sent a spell hurtling at the older witch that knocked her out. Suddenly there was a piercing cry of pain. Harry's head shot in the direction as he saw Kalyn, on her knees, clutching her head. His eyes traveled to find Voldemort's wand to be the cause of her pain. With a guttural growl he rushed forward, knocking the wand out of his hand. He moved to stand in front of her.

"Don't' you ever hurt her again you sick bastard," he spat. Suddenly Harry was pulled out of Voldemort's way by what felt like an invisible hand. He found himself being levitated by Narcissa.

"Put me down you bitch!" Harry cried, trying to break the spell. His eyes widened in horror as Voldemort retrieved his wand, aiming it at Kalyn. Severus was near her and began to move into the path of green light that was hurtling towards the girl. She pushed him out of the way as it hit. Her eyes opened in shock as she slumped to the ground, lifeless.

"What do you think you were doing?" Voldemort roared at Severus.

"You really are incompetent. I'm not on your side you crazy fool. Go ahead and try to kill me," Severus goaded.

Harry had managed to break free of the spell and had fallen to his knees by Kalyn. He pulled her to him, hot tears leaking out of his eyes and onto her hair. Voldemort and Snape were still exchanging heated words when Alena went running by. She was chasing a pudgy Death Eater who had a length of wood in his hand. He was swinging it wildly, not caring who he hit. He let it swing in a wide swoop, clocking Jacob on the back of the head. He fell forward as he tried to get to his feet. He stumbled to the side and landed on Ginny. His eyes still being fuzzy from the blow he sunk his teeth into her. Harry paled as she cried out in pain. Just as suddenly as her shrieks had started, they stopped. Jacob had regained his composure and had back away, horrified at what he'd done. Hermione rushed to Ginny's side, feeling for a pulse. She caught Harry's gaze and shook her head sadly, tears filling her eyes.

It took all Harry had to leave Kalyn and wrestle the board swinger to the ground. The board went flying, landing at the Dark Lord's feet. He looked at it, a wicked smile spreading across his pale features. It was rather jagged at one end. He made to swing it at Severus who deftly jumped back. The wood did however find a sheath in Alena's stomach. She tried to cry out but couldn't. Severus grabbed her. Laying her down, pulling out the wood.

"No. This can't be happening," he babbled, as he tried to stop the bleeding.

"Darling…it's not going to work," Alena managed through a cough, spitting up blood.

"I can't lose you. Not now," he spat.

Harry had watched the event unfolding and was now beyond livid. He was stark raving mad. He got a running start and tackled Voldemort to the ground. He pinned the wizard down, just staring at him.

"I hope you like pain you jackass. You kill my girlfriend. You kill his girlfriend and you've gone too far. Because of you, my life has sucked from day one," Harry spat, Voldemort struggling all the while.

"Oh stop fighting. You've got no chance. Not against me. You see, I've got the upper hand here Tom," Harry snarled, baiting him.

Without another word, Harry sunk his fangs into Voldemort's throat, tearing the flesh viciously. He tore open the jugular vein and watched as blood flowed everywhere. Harry watched as the last glimpses of life left the Dark Lord's slit-like eyes. Severus had to drag him off of the corpse; the boy was covered in his enemy's blood. Harry collapsed into Snape's arms. He was angry and heart-broken all in one. He just let the tears flow down his face. Just like Moody had accused, the Order showed up to clean up their mess. Ron stared horrified at his sister's dead and bloody body. Without a word, he levitated her and left. Harry threw himself onto Kalyn's now cold body and sobbed. It wasn't fair. He'd been looking forward to spending decades with her. Severus cradled Alena in his arms, caressing her cheek until she breathed her last breath. Somberly he closed her eyes.


	15. Chapter 15

_Epilogue_

The wind blew through the trees that lined the entrance and exit of the stone bridge overlooking the river. The water was angrily clawing at the moon's reflection. How ironic it felt to the sole onlooker. He appeared to be young, no older than sixteen. His hair was messy and his emerald green eyes looked out sadly. At one time he'd worn glasses but he'd long since required their aid. He was dressed in jeans and a long black coat that the wind whipped around his legs. How long had it been since that fateful night? Was it thirteen or fifteen years? Either way it felt like eons. Sure he'd managed to finish school but what good did it do him? The world that had once worshipped him now treated him like trash. Worse than trash, they treated him like the next coming of Voldemort. Suddenly his ears pricked up at the sound of footsteps, ones he knew well; so well that he didn't have to turn his head to see who it was.

"Hi Harry," Hermione called as she stopped next to him. She took in his frame. He was pale, not having seen the sun in ages. But yet he looked healthy, a sign that he had fed recently. She'd learned to pick up on these little nuances with the time she'd spent with him over the years.

"He send you?" Harry muttered in reply.

"No, Harry. Ron didn't send me," she murmured. It was true that her husband often times sent her to spy on Harry and his kin.

"I was just worried about you. So is Severus," she added.

"He knows where I am. He's not worried. Besides, he'd let me know if he was," Harry answered,

"I haven't seen you in ages. You never answer my letters," she begged, placing a hand on his shoulder. She found it hard not to take on a motherly tone with him. He did appear the age of her own children.

"Look Hermione. You have your life," Harry shot back.

"And I have…an existence," he added glumly.

"Besides, no offense but visiting would only give him more reason to bother us," he growled. His mind flashed back to the newspaper article all those years ago. It came out a week after the final battle. Harry had kept it, for no reason that he could fathom.

**"Boy-Who-Lived Hero or Real Villain?"**

_We have it from very reliable resources that the famed Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter, has been keeping a very dangerous secret from the Ministry. Our sources revealed to us late last week that he is none other than a vampire. Now why he would keep this is a secret is what we're all dying to know. Our informant, Mr. Ronald Weasley has given us insight into Potter's psyche._

"He didn't tell anyone because it's obvious he wanted to keep us all under his thumb." Our informant explained.

"He's gotten rid of You-Know-Who so he can take over now. Him and his army of freaks."

When asked what his response to Potter's actions was, described as a massacre, Weasley explained that he had contacted the Ministry about establishing a new branch of the Aurors, a force he planned to head up. He has called it the Control and Containment of Vampire Taskforce.

So if you're out there reading this, vampires beware. We know you're out there. It's just a matter of time before we find you.

"Harry…did you hear what I said?" Hermione brought the vampire back from his thoughts.

"What?"

"I said; don't let Ron get under your skin too much. He just…hasn't been the same really since Ginny passed," Hermione repeated herself.

"The prick still blames me for it," Harry spat, beginning to walk along the bridge in the direction of town.

"You know you can still trust me, right Harry?" she said softly.

"I don't need you to mother me. Nothing is the same anymore. And how can I trust you when he uses you?" Harry shot back over his shoulder.

"I don't know why he does the things he does. And I know nothing I say will fix what's broken between the two of you but…you could at least try to still be my friend," she mumbled, sounding on the verge of tears.

"Why would you want to be friends with me…I'm the monster, the freak…the bloody-thirsty killer remember," the vampire spat.

"No you're not. You're Harry Potter. My friend, and the bravest young man I've ever known," she countered, starting to follow him.

"I appreciate the kindness…I really do. But we're in two completely different worlds. The sun dictates my life. It's all the same, every day get up…and try to survive," Harry muttered, shoving his hands into the pockets of his coat.

Without another word, Harry disapparated from where he stood, leaving Hermione to look at the spot he'd occupied. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She silently cursed Ron for causing all of this. Drying her tears, she returned home to await Ron's return from work.

Harry appeared at the end of the drive of the house on Spinner's End. It had become his home as much as Hogwarts had been in its day. The shrubs and other bushes around the house had been tamed down to allow sunlight into the windows at dusk. He moved forward and pulled open the door. It made no noise. He moved into the doorway of the sitting room. Severus sat on the couch, staring out the window, a glass of gin on the table in front of him.

'Worried about me?'

"What?" Severus asked, turning to face his offspring.

"Hermione found me at the river," Harry informed his sire.

"Oh. Yes, she stopped by. Wondering where you were," Severus answered, distracted. He reached for his glass, tossing it back in one gulp.

'Obviously,' Harry retorted sarcastically.

Harry's eyes darted to the photograph that lay on the mantle in its flowery silver frame. The four of them looked so happy. Two happy couples enjoying each other's company. How quickly it had all changed. His eyes then drifted to the visible chain that hung around Severus' neck, bearing the sole reminder that his sire was immortal.

'You could destroy it you know,' he said softly.

"Drink?" Severus offered.

"No."

'Why would I do that? She wouldn't want me to do that,' he replied defensively.

'You could be with her. I wouldn't blame you. I've thought about it. It'd be a lot off of my shoulders,' Harry remarked.

"No, she wouldn't want that…neither of them would," Severus spoke aloud, his onyx eyes focused on the two urns that flanked the photograph.

Both Alena and Kalyn had wanted to be cremated and have their ashes sprinkled in the river where Harry had been. He went there often to visit them. Suddenly Harry could have sworn he heard a familiar voice echo.

"Live you're lives my darlings. Through you, I live. You are my blood. Never forget that as long as you are alive, I am never really gone."


End file.
